


Obligatory Beauty and the Beast Au

by Peanutbutterassistant



Category: RWBY
Genre: Beast!Yang, Beauty and the Beast AU, Beauty!Blake, F Adam All my homies hate Adam, F/F, Gaston!Adam, Gen, Mutual Pining, Pining, TW for Adam dying and Yang almost dying, lots of pining, nothing too graphic but nonetheless, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:26:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26614441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peanutbutterassistant/pseuds/Peanutbutterassistant
Summary: The last time Blake had checked, she hated Yang. Or. She should hate Yang. She was supposed to hate Yang. Everything would be easier if she hated Yang. But somehow, she found herself not hating Yang. It was… unsettling.The Beast had trapped her here with a promise. The Beast had taken her from her family, who she’d never see again. The Beast was keeping her locked in a rotting castle with only herself and talking furniture for company. The Beast didn’t know how to make crust for a pie and Blake found it /charming/.
Relationships: Yang Xiao Long/ Blake Belladonna
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	Obligatory Beauty and the Beast Au

**Author's Note:**

> Since Adam is hogging all the anger issues, Beast!Yang had depression (like in V4) instead.
> 
> I don’t know how to made tags, but if you copy and paste   
> https://www.instagram.com/p/CGAbeGTl-qj/?igshid=ccpnq0crxdz6  
> Into your search, you can see some lovely art!

Blake’s pace was brisk as she returned home from the bookstore. Face buried deep in her novel, she didn’t need to look up to see where she was going, she knew every road in Menagerie, she could wall the whole town blindfolded.

Blake had been out all day. First she went to Illia’s, then they ran into Sun and Neptune at the park. Then she stopped by the bookstore to see if anything interesting had been stocked since the last time she stopped by (yesterday). There had not been. But someone had returned Goldilocks, so she had taken it out again. Goldilocks was one of her favorites, she found the story charming. And she found the character herself amusing, always upbeat and bright, Blake thinks Goldilocks is someone she’d be friends with if they would meet in real life.

Blake arrived at the manor house, eager to return home, so she’d had some alone time with her book. She opened the door and walked inside, greeted immediately by her mother.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, “It's you, dear.”

Blake looked up at her, “Were you expecting someone different?”

“Yes, actually,” she began, “You know how your father has been trying to get funding for the repair of that broken fountain, the one in the middle of the town square?”

Blake had walked past it on her way home actually, it had been broken for months now, and her father, Chieftain of Menagerie, had been trying to get funding for a repair job since it broke.

“Yes?” Blake asked.

“Well, a summons arrived in the mail today from the council, and they want to see your father today!”

“Today today?” Blake questioned.

“Yes! He’s outside packing for the trip.”

Before her mother could finish, Blake was out the back door. She caught him loading baggage onto one of their best horses, Bumbleby.

“There you are!” he called, as soon as she was in sight, “I was worried I would have left by the time you got home!”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Blake replied, “Do you have to leave today? Right now? It seems so sudden.”

“I know, but hey, that’s life. Besides, the town will be in good hands.”

“Trust me, I know how capable mom is.” 

Ghira raised an eyebrow, “She hasn’t told you about what we decided to do yet?”

Blake, thoroughly confused, shook her head.

“Well,” he began, “Since running the town is a job for two, and you’re not nearly ready for that kind of responsibility yet, we’ve asked Adam to help Kali run everything while I’m gone. We thought it would be a good way for him to get his feet wet, since he’ll be running the whole thing once you two get married and we retire. In fact, he should arrive any minute.”

Blake’s throat tightened. That was who her mom was expecting. The last thing Blake wanted to do today was see her fiancé. She still wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of that. Now he was going to be presumably staying in her house for an unknown amount of time while her father was away. Perfect. 

It’s not that Adam was annoying, or rude, or insistent, like many of her suitors over the years have been, Adam was… she was scared of him. She wasn’t ashamed to admit that out loud. Anyone who knew Adam, really knew him, knew what he was capable of, would be afraid. Adam had a way of getting people to do what he wanted. He just… had a way with people. He appealed to them. He was an incredible speaker, he could capture a crowd in just a few sentences. He was a natural leader, and he used that power to get what he wanted; more power. He had Blake’s parents convinced, but Blake knew better. Blake knew Adam. She hadn’t managed to convince her parents that the marriage wasn’t a good idea yet. They dismissed her fears about him, saying she was just nervous, that she had cold feet, and she would get over it. Blake’s parents were good people, good parents, really they were, they just didn’t know Adam like Blake did. 

Blake heard her mom’s voice from inside, talking to someone with a lower voice.

“That must be him,” her father assumed, “Take Bumbleby our front for me Blake, will you? I want to greet him.”

Blake nodded her head quickly, grateful for the excuse to avoid seeing Adam for the time being.  
As her father dashed inside, Blake took Bumbleby by the reins and towed him around the house. By the time they reached the front of the house, her parents were on the porch, talking with Adam. Blake refused to meet his eye as they walked over to her. 

“.. And you’re sure you trust me with this?” Adam was asking as they walked, feigning incompetence.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Adam, I could think of no one better for the job!” Ghira praised.

Blake could feel Adam’s icy blue eyes on her, and she gripped Bumbleby’s reins tighter, book under her arm. 

“We’ll miss you dear!” Kali said, “Travel safely.”  
Ghira placed a kiss on her forehead, “I alway do.”  
He gave Adam a firm handshake, then walked over to Blake, who reluctantly released the reins over to him.

“Do you really have to go?” Blake whispered to him.

“Don’t worry about a thing,” he consoled her, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Blake wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, “Could I go with you?” she asked, hoping the desperation didn’t creep onto her voice.

“Watching you talk to the council could be a good experience for me, since I’ll have to do it one day, probably.”

Ghira pulled them apart, “Blake, what’s going on? I’ve left for weeks on end and you haven’t acted like this.”

‘Oh, I’m just terrified of living in the same house as the man you think I’m in love with, aka the man I’m going to marry. But I can’t tell you about it because I’m afraid that if I say anything to take you out of his good graces, he’ll do something awful not just to me, but to you as well. Especially because he’s standing right there.’

“Nothing. I’m just worried.” Blake dismissed.  
Ghira ruffled her hair, loosening the large, black bow atop her head, “Everything’s going to be fine, baby.”

He gave her a warm smile, then climbed on top on Bumbleby.

“I should be back in three days!” he called.

“Good luck!” Kali waved.

“Be back soon!” Blake spoke.

Kicking Bumbly in the sides, he rode off.

As Charia disappeared over the horizon, Blake felt Adam’s icy stare on her neck. She did not look back at him.

…

“Three whole days? Woe is you.” Sun mocked her.  
“I’m serious! You’d be surprised about what Adam could get done in three days.” Blake snapped back.  
After her father set off, Blake had come up with an excuse to leave the house. She couldn’t even remember what it was anymore. It was late at night, and she had been away for several hours. She had met up with Sun several minutes ago, near the town square, and given him the run down of the situation. He didn’t seem to be understanding what Adam was capable of in a position of that much power. 

“Imagine what it’ll be like when you’re married.” Sun joked.

Blake stiffened at the thought.

“Sorry,” he amended, “Not funny.”

“It wasn’t.” she agreed.

“Have you come up with another plan to call off the marriage? Do you need me to talk to your parents about him again?”

“Thank you, but no.” Blake responded, “No matter what we, or anybody else, says about Adam, my parents won’t buy it. I mean, they’re completely convinced Adam is this perfect angel. No. If I’m going to get out of this, we’re going to have to come up with something that doesn’t involve my parents calling it off.”

Sun tapped his chin, pulling a fake thinking face, “Are you suggesting… getting rid of him? Because I’m not saying murder, but… I am comfortable being convicted for manslaughter.”

“Sun!” Blake giggled, elbowing him in the side.

“What?!” he smiled, “I’m just saying, if someone has to die then someone has to die. I’m serious! Stop laughing!” 

“Sorry,” Blake breathed in between laughs. “You always know how to cheer me up.”

Sun flashed her a quick smile in response. They continued walking side by side down the path. All the shops were closed for the day, and no one was outside besides the two of them. Suddenly, Blake spotted a figure on the horizon, then she saw her.  
Bumbleby, sprinting, reached the pair, and Blake grabbed onto her reins and pulled her to a stop. Bumbleby was breathing hard, her eyes wild. Something must have spooked her. That’s when she noticed the deep claw marks on her empty saddle. The horse’s mane was wind blown, and there was mud and dirt all up her legs. 

“This… was my dad’s horse.” Blake finally spoke, “What happened to him?”

“Dunno.” Sun responded, “But it must’ve been pretty bad to have spooked this steed so bad.”

“Something must’ve happened to him.” Blake panicked. She checked for wounds, Bumbleby had none. All of her dad’s supplies were still there. Including the map. Blake swung her leg over the saddle, and mounted the horse.

“Wait, what’re you doing?” Sun asked.

“Don’t you see, Sun? Something happened to my dad on his way to the council,” Blake explained, “Bumbleby must’ve gotten away and run home. If something’s happening to him, I have to get there and help, before it can get worse!” 

“Right now?” Sun questioned.

“Right now.” Blake confirmed. “Tell my mom where I went, but don’t let Adam know I left. With luck, I’ll be back before he even notices I’m gone.”

“Okay. Only if I can rope the boys into this.”

Blake struggles for a moment, trying to visualize Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage, trying to come up with excuses about why Adam’s fiancé disappeared in the middle of the night. 

“Only if you involve Illia too.”

“Deal.” said Sun, “Ride safe, Belladonna.”

Blake gave him a nod, and rode off.

…

Blake hadn’t been out of the town in a long time, but she definitely did not remember it being this frightening. The tall trees cast menacing shadows, and the moon was full. Every once in a while, Blake would hear howling, and she would speed up. Bumbleby seemed on edge, and Blake couldn’t blame her. Maybe it was just so spooky because it was night and they were alone. Either way, Blake didn’t like it. She checked her map, she was headed in the correct direction. At least, the direction she assumed her father would have taken. She reached a fork in the road, a pole with arrows pointing in both directions. But had anything been written on the arrows, they had long been worn off.

Blake looked at the map again. There wasn’t supposed to be a fork in the road here, there was supposed to be one in about twenty miles, according to the map. But, then again, Blake didn’t regularly read maps while traveling alone at night, so maybe she was wrong. She tugged Bumbleby to the right, and they continued on. 

…

Blake was confused when the forest began to thin out.

According to the map, there was supposed to be dense forest for miles yet. But sure enough, the trees began to stager less frequently as they rode on. Then she saw it.

The path came to an abrupt end, connecting to a large, black gate, overgrown with ivy and moss. But the door was open. Blake dismounted and checked the map again. There was no mention of this in the map. She walked up to the gate, pulling Bumbleby by the reins, but the horse would go no farther. Blake tied the horse’s reins to a nearby tree, and continued on.

The gate cracked as Blake pushed it open farther. She made it two steps inside before noting the broken lantern in the pathway. She picked it up, and saw the intricate detail carved in the metal. She recognized this lantern, it belonged to her father. She strode onward before the castle came into view. It was huge and old. It, too, was overgrown with ivy and moss. Parts of it looked unfinished, or broken down. Blake continued walking to the door, and knocked on its big, oak doors. No one answered, but the door opened wide. 

Unease settled into her gut, but Blake walked inside. 

The entryway was huge. Pillars held up the high ceiling, and connected back to the dusty, marble floor. 

“Hello?” Blake called. Her voice echoed back to her, but she saw no one. She clutched the broken lantern so tightly, her knuckles turned white.

…

Ruby woke with a start. She had been sleeping standing up. She did that often recently, as it was difficult to lay down when you were a candlestick.  
“Hello?” Came the voice from the hallway. Ruby peaked her face around the hall, and saw her. A young lady, about the master’s age. Long, wavy back hair, and a large black bow, she wore a black dress with white sleeves and a white apron around the front. Ruby gasped.

Another thing that was hard to do when you were a candlestick? Open drawers. While she still appeared as a teeny, brass girl, there was a candle on her head, and each of her hands were permanently stuck holding candles as well. But she managed. 

Weiss opened her eyes, and waved Ruby off. “No, too early, close the drawer.” 

“There’s a girl in the castle!” Ruby squealed.

“There’s a what?” Weiss responded, sitting up quickly. 

She managed to hop on top of the dresser to join Ruby in snooping. While Ruby had difficulty opening and closing things, Weiss had it even worse. She had the head, hair, neck, and torso of a girl, but no arms! Ruby assumed she had legs and feet, but she had never really been sure, as it had been covered by her big, poofy white skirt. Thus was the struggle of a feather duster, she supposed.  
Weiss caught a glimpse of the girl and gaped.

“What do we do?” she whispered, “The master won’t be happy about this. Two people in the same week?”

“I know! Isn’t it great?” Ruby squealed.

“Ssh!” Weiss scolded, “This isn’t great! What if the master sees her?”

“She’ll have a new bff!” Ruby responded, then, something occurred to her, “Wait, what if she’s the one?”

“The what?” 

“The one who will break the spell?” 

Weiss rolled her eyes, “I don’t think it’s that easy, Ruby. The master isn’t really in the mood for more visitors.”

“She’ll never be in the mood for visitors! It’s now or never! You’ve seen how thin that rose is getting, haven’t you? This could be her chance!” Ruby pleaded.

“Dad?” the Girl called, “Dad, are you here?”

“Oh!” Ruby squealed, “I bet that old guy is her dad! We should reunite them! What do you say?”

Weiss gave a sigh, “Fine. Guide her to the dungeons. But we are not talking to her this time. That freaked out the old man too much. Got it?”

“Yay Weiss!” Ruby said, throwing her hands around the feather duster’s waist. 

“Stop it you dolt, you’ll set me on fire again!”

Ruby let go of her, backing up slightly. “Right. Sorry.”

…

“Dad? Blake called, “Dad, are you here?”

Suddenly she heard talking from a hallway to the left, Blake walked towards it. 

“Hello?” she called again.

“Hello?” responded a young, female voice Blake didn’t recognize, coming from farther down the hallway.

Blake followed the voice down the hallway, stopping at a dresser. 

There was a single, ornate candlestick sitting atop the dresser. It looked like a young, brass girl, wearing a beautiful dress, holding a candle in each hand, and another candle sat atop her messy, unevenly cut, short hair. It was the only source of light in the room.

Blake dismissed her earlier concerns of the castle being abandoned. Clearly, someone was here. A young girl, perhaps, who had lit this candlestick and called to her from the hallway.

Blake picked up the candle and used it to light her lantern.

“Hello?” Blake called again, placing the candle back on the drawer, “My name is Blake, I’m looking for my father, has anyone visited you recently?”

“Hello?” came the voice from the hallway.

Perhaps the girl was deaf, or hard of hearing.  
Blake held her lantern high and walked down the hallway. 

“Hello?” asked the voice again, farther down the hallway. Blake followed the voice, sure that the girl was walking away from her.

“I’m here.” Blake called.

She followed the voice down a set of stone stairs, moss creeping up the walls. The staircase ended in what looked like a dungeon. Blake walked cautiously, fear making her hair stand on end.

“Hello?” called the voice, from the end of the hallway.

“Who's there?!” responded another voice, this one deep and recognizable.

Blake raced down the hallway, past rows of jail cells. She reached the end and in the last jail cell, her father stood, hands wrapped around the bars.  
Blake almost tripped over a white feather duster on the floor, (who leaves a feather duster in a dungeon?) and reached the door, which she promptly tried to open, to no avail.

“Blake!” her father spoke, surprise present in his voice, “What’re you doing? You shouldn’t be here!” 

“It’s a long story,” Blake jingled the lock, it did not open, “Who locked you in here?”

“Also a long story. Look. Blake. You have to get out of here, I don’t want that thing to come back here and get you too.”

“What thing?” Blake asked, “Whatever. I’m not leaving without you.”

“No, Blake, Please, you can’t-“

Suddenly, the door at the end of the hall opened. Blake could hardly comprehend what walked through it. 

It was huge. Easily two feet taller than her. It walked on two legs, but it hardly resembled a human. It was covered in yellow fur, tiny yellow deer-like ears on either side of it’s head, and it had cream colored horns like an antelope. It had very human purple eyes, and a cat-like nose, and a firm mouth, open to reveal sharp fangs. It had a huge mane, like a lion. It was wearing a button up white shirt, though several of the top buttons were unbuttoned, to make room for her mane. It was also wearing trousers, a snake like tail came out the back of them, a tuft of yellow hair tipped the end of it. It had massive claws, and it was barefooted. It’s eyes looked from Ghira to Blake, and it showed a face that looked quite fearful.

“Who are you?” It barked to Blake, “How did you find this place?”

Blake swallowed her fear, “My name is Blake Belladonna, and I’ve come here for my father!”

“Ok, sure, but how did you find this place?” The thing asked, her (it sounded very feminine, though not the voice Blake heard calling her here, so Blake assumed it was a ‘she’) voice sounding frustrated.

“I, uh, followed a map.” she said, “I came here for my father.”

“I know, you said,” The Thing dismissed, “God, I guess I’ll just have to look you up too.”

She walked over to the cell next to her father’s and took a key out of her shirt pocket, and opened the door. She gripped Blake’s arm, (her grip was strong, Blake couldn’t get free) and her father shouted, “Unhand her, beast!”

“Shut up!” responded.. erm… the Beast… sounding more panicked than angry.

“Wait!” Blake said, “What can I do to get you to release my father?”

The Beast scrunched up her eyebrows, “Well, I can’t let either of you go. If you do, you’ll tell everyone about this place, and you’ll bring more humans back here. Probably to kill me. And I kinda enjoy living.”

“But we won’t tell!” Blake answered quickly.

“Yeah you say that, but how do I know I can trust you?” said the Beast, “All you humans are the same. You see something different, scary, and you assume I’m going to kill you. You’ll bring an angry village back here with you, with pitchforks and torches. I’m not naive.” 

Blake swallowed. “Please. My father is a good man. He’s the Chieftain of Menagerie. He’s known for his honesty, fairness, and trustworthiness. He won’t tell. I promise.”

The Beast met her eyes, searching her face, and suddenly, her eyes looked so human to Blake, so vulnerable, Blake’s gut twisted.

“But if you both leave, I’ll be… alone again.”

The Beast had let go of her arm, and Blake stood there for a moment. She turned back to her father, and made up her mind.

“Let my father go, and I’ll be your prisoner. I promise, I won’t leave.”

“No!” her father screamed.

The Beast looked deep into Blake’s eyes. Blake stood firm.

“Okay.” said the Beast, calmly.

She unlocked her father's cell and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of there, then he ran over to Blake, pulling her into his arms, Blake melted into the gesture.

“Why would you do that? Why would you say that? I’m not leaving you here.” 

“You have to. It’ll be okay, you won’t even notice I’m gone.” 

The Beast placed a paw on Blake’s shoulder, and gave a loud, mighty roar. Ghira’s eyes widened, and he turned around and ran, while Blake was held in place. 

The Beast waited until they could no longer hear Ghira’s footsteps against the stone floor before speaking again.

“You may travel anywhere in the castle. So long as you’re within the castle gates. The only place off limits to you is the top floor in the east wing. Enjoy your stay.”

The Beast turned around, and exited the way she came.

Blake hopes, wherever she had run off to, she could hear Blake’s sobs.

…

When Blake woke up, she was still tired. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and when she did, she felt nothing but dread.

She had woken to the sound of her cell door creaking open. Blake sat up from the pile of hay she had slept on. Not very comfortable. When her eyes adjusted, she saw a cart on the doorway, and a kettle, and a single teacup. 

“Good morning, miss.” came a voice, deep and masculine, from the door.

Blake stood up and looked at the cart. She looked left and right, but saw no one but the tea set.  
“Hello?” she called, deeply confused.

“Down here, girl.” 

Confused, Blake looked down at the tea set, and that’s when she noticed the kettle had a face. And it was looking at her. So she screamed.

“Sorry to wake you, miss.” said the kettle, “But we-“

“We made you tea!” said the Teacup, in the voice of a young girl.

“Penny.” The kettle scolded. 

“Sorry sir.” said the teacup- Penny.

“I’m sorry,” Blake began, “How is.. how are you…?”

“Talking?” the kettle finished.

“Yes. That.” Blake asked.

“It’s a curse.” said the kettle. 

“Am evil witch cursed us!” added Penny, “We can’t tell you more than that.”

Somewhat hesteric, Blake asked, “Why not? Please. I’m so confused.”

“Part of the curse is that we can’t tell you more than you already know.”

“That seems somewhat redundant.”

“You have no idea.” the kettle agreed. “Tea?”

“Sure.” said Blake, “Why not?”

The kettle poured itself out into Penny. Blake picked her up and took a sip.

“This is really good.” she commented.

“Thank you.” said the kettle, “You’re taking this remarkably well.”

“Oh, I’m freaking out on the inside.” Blake told him.

“That’s reasonable.”

“Hey,” interjected Penny, “The cell door wasn’t locked, you know. You could have left. Like, to sleep in a bed. Why didn’t you?”

“Penny!” the kettle scolded again.

“I am a prisoner here.” Blake explained. “I’m not going to pretend like I’m anything else.”

“So wise,” said Penny. “We can take you on a tour of the palace if you want. Right, general?”

“General?” Blake asked.

“I’m no general.” said the kettle, “You can call me Ironwood. But yes, if you wanted, we could take you around the castle. Find you something nicer to sleep in.” 

“That’s alright.” said Blake. “I’d rather stay here.”

“Suit yourself.” said Ironwood.

The cart moved itself out the door, and Blake was alone again.

…

Eventually, Blake did wander about. The castle was huge, and she got lost quickly. She didn’t exactly have anywhere to be, nor anywhere to return to, so it didn’t bother her. 

There didn’t seem to be any reasonable layout or pattern on how the place was built. Corridors leading to nowhere, balconies everywhere, large, empty rooms. She did find the bedrooms though. She didn’t directly encounter any more talking objects, although she did hear them. They seemed to be trying to stay out of her way, but she could hear them whispering from other rooms, but when she would enter, no one would be there. It’s as hard to tell what was alive and what wasn’t, and she kept feeling like she was being watched.  
She found her way outside, and wound up in a garden. She wondered who maintained it. Maybe the Beast liked gardening, maybe the objects did it.

Not once did she see a sign of the Beast.

Around what she guessed was late evening, Blake could no longer ignore her hunger. Not that she knew where she'd be able to find food here.

She was walking down another narrow hallway when, suddenly,

“Hello!”

Blake flinched and turned around. 

On the floor behind her, was the tiny brass girl candlestick Blake had seen when she arrived here. 

“Uh. Hi.” replied Blake.

“We made dinner for you. We’re all very excited about you being here.”

She looked excited.

“Oh. Uh. Alright.” said Blake, eloquently, “Where?”

“Follow me!” said the candlestick.

Blake followed her down a maze of hallways and empty rooms. Eventually, they entered a large room with a long, wood table. There was so much food in it, there was not a single inch of spare space.

“Wow.” remarked Blake.

“I told you this much food would scare her off, you dolt!” said a familiar voice. Blake trained her eyes to the white feather duster on the table.

“You were the voice I heard when I first came here.” Blake recalled.

The feather duster flinched, “You remember that?”  
Blake nodded.

“Ah.” she said, embarrassed.

“Here, have a seat!” said the candlestick. “We didn’t know what you liked, so we made everything!”

“I can see that.” said Blake, sitting down in the seat closest to her.

Blake wasn’t really sure where to start. She cut into the chicken (she was assuming it was a chicken) and placed the slice into her plate. She then noticed the candlestick and the feather duster staring at her intently. 

“What?” Blake asked.

“What does it taste like?” asked the candlestick.  
Blake cut a piece off and ate it. 

“Like. Uh. Chicken. Kinda lemony.”

“Hmmm. Lemon chicken.” said the candlestick, as if trying to imagine what it could taste like.

Then, something occurred to Blake.

“Can.. can you guys eat?”

“I’m a feather duster.” said the feather duster.

“Ah.” said Blake, “Right.”

“Oh, don’t be mean, Weiss, it was just a question.” said the candlestick.

“A dumb question.” replied the feather duster- Weiss.

“We’re supposed to be hosting! This is our guest!” 

“Guest?” laughed Blake.

“Yep!” the candlestick affirmed, “We want you to feel welcome here!”

Blake resisted rolling her eyes. She would never feel welcomed in a place where she was kept prisoner, no matter how much food she was given. Not so long as the Beast was here.

“Okay okay,” Blake began, “So, your name is Weiss, and yours is…?”

“Oh!” said the candlestick, startled, “I’m Ruby! That’s Weiss.”

“She knows my name.” Weiss spat.

“Sorry! I’m nervous. We haven’t had a guest in years!”

“Who else has stayed here?” Blake asked, eating more chicken.

Ruby paused for a moment, thinking. 

“Well, there was that guy with the weird hat.”

“He got two steps in the door before Ruby scared him off.” Weiss explained.

“Hey! It’s not my fault. I forgot candlesticks don’t normally talk!”

Blake laughed, cutting into more chicken.

“There was that old couple. They came in because it was raining, do you remember?” said Ruby.

“Yep. The master sacred them off.”

“Not on purpose. Old people are just… uh… flighty.”  
Ruby squinted, deep in thought.

“Oh, there was that one kid. She was nice.” 

“She tried to kill the master!” 

“Okay, sure, maybe we should have checked for weapons at the door. How was I supposed to know she had a shotgun?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Blake interjected.

“There was this one girl, teenagerish, she came by one morning. She took one look at the master, and took out this huge gun thing, and shot at her!” Ruby explained.

“We chased her off,” Weiss finished.

“That’s… harsh.” Blake commented. 

“Well, and I don’t mean any disrespect to the master, but… well… have you seen her?” Weiss spoke.

“Weiss!” gasped Ruby.

“I’m just saying,” Weiss explained, “If you don’t know the master- like we do, I mean- she can be pretty intimidating. That’s all.”

“But she isn’t!” Ruby argued. “Well, I guess she appears kinda scary. But she isn’t some brute.”  
“Well…” Weiss began.

“You don’t know her like I do!” Ruby squealed, “The master is one of the kindest, bravest people I know. I don’t know a single soul in this whole world that could have gone what she went through and still smile.”

“Alright, I’m sorry I brought it up.” Weiss surrendered.

“What did she go through that was so bad?”  
Ruby opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. 

“Sorry. I can’t say.”

Blake sighed, resigning to eating her chicken.  
Just then, Weiss and Ruby froze, the feather duster falling into her side. Blake heard creaking floorboards behind her and turned around to see the Beast in the doorway.

She looked around the room, then to Blake.  
“What did… how did you get all this food?” the Beast asked.

Blake shrugged. “I guess someone made it for me? I’m not exactly sure. It was here when I walked in. Why?”

The Beast flinched at the harshness of Blake’s tone. But Blake hardly cared, this was her captor, and she didn’t care for small talk.

“Alright. Who were you talking to?”

Blake pointed to Ruby and Weiss. “They aren’t moving anymore, though. Does that normally happen?”

The Beast furrowed her eyebrows in deep confusion, “You were… talking to a candlestick and a feather duster?”

“Yeah.” Blake responded, you’d think someone who lived with taking furniture would be more used to this sort of thing. “Are they okay?”

The Beast shrugged, “Uh, I couldn’t really tell you? I mean, they look fine to me?”  
She raised a paw and scratched at her mane, “You do you?”

A moment of silence lapsed between them.

“So… you’re busy right now?” The Beast asked.

“Yes.” Blake responded harshly.

“Oh.” said the Beast, looking like a kicked puppy, “Right. I’ll just…” she pointed awkwardly to the door. “Bye.” Then, she exited.

Suddenly, Weiss stood back up and Ruby woke up again.

“What the heck was that?” Blake asked them.

“Oh good! We can talk about this now.” Weiss began, “We’re alive because of this curse, right? But we, as soon as the master is near, turn back into household objects.”

“It’s very depressing.” Ruby added. “We can watch her from afar, but we can’t talk to her. She doesn’t even know we’re here.”

“So she’s just… alone here?” Blake asked.

“Yep,” Weiss confirmed.

“You can’t tell her about us.” said Ruby.

“Why not?” asked Blake.

“Because, it would just upset her.” explained Ruby, “Imagine if you’ve been alone for so long, only to find out you haven’t been alone at all? But you’re cursed to never see your company? How sad is that?”

Guilt at yelling at the Beast crawled up her skin, “Pretty sad. But it doesn’t give her the right to kidnap me.”

“You walked in here yourself.” Weiss argued.

“I’m still a prisoner.” said Blake.

“True.” Weiss agreed.

“What can we say to get you to talk to her?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know what about that thing makes you care about her so much, but I’m not going to try to fix her like she’s a broken teacup. If she wants to change, then she’s going to have to do it herself.”  
Blake shivered at the thought of how she had tried to do something similar in her youth. How awful that had turned out.

“You don’t have to fix the master, she isn’t broken. She’s not delicate.” Ruby’s mouth was a firm line as she spoke, “She just needs company. Someone to talk to. She can do the rest herself. You promised you’d stay here, so you’re not doing much else, are you?”

“Ruby.” Weiss scolded, “Let her be. She doesn’t have to do anything.”

“I’m finished.” Blake stood up, “Have a nice night.”  
“Wait! Miss!” Ruby called. But Blake had already left the room. 

…

Blake had only been alone for a couple minutes before the Beast found her again. And nearly gave her a heart attack.

She had been walking through the hallways and she had just. Appeared. Behind her. And said; “Hey are you-“

“AAH!” Blake screamed, jumping back.

“Sorry. Are you busy right now?” the Beast asked again.

Blake, remembering her conversation from earlier, decided to throw her a bone.

“No.”

“Okay.” said the Beast, “I have something to show you. If you want to see it, I mean.”

Blake hesitated, but nodded her head, and followed the Beast down hallway and corridors, and then up a staircase, and then down another hallway. Then she opened a door.

“I cleaned it up for you. It’s a bedroom- I hope that was clear. All the bedrooms are covered in dust- they’re aren’t in use. So I dusted and put everything away, it’s all neat and tidy in there! I changed the sheets and everything. So.”

The Beast stood aside, letting Blake walk in.  
The room was about the size of her own back home, maybe bigger. The bed was gorgeous, if not old. Blue bed sheets matched the blue curtains that hung from the large window. There was a matching furniture set, a baby blue nightstand and a large, baby blue, free-standing-wardrobe. It was still a bit dusty, and the white wallpaper was peeling off, but there was an effort, and Blake was somewhat touched. Even if this was just a fancier prison.

“I felt bad that you were sleeping in a prison cell. They’re not very comfortable. Not that I would know, I don’t think I’d even fit in there.” said the Beast.

“Thanks,” said Blake, her voice small.

“Yang.” she said. “My name is Yang.”

Strangely, Blake hadn’t thought the Beast would have a name, it made her much more real, much more human.

“Thanks, Yang.” said Blake, trying it out.

“Right.” she said, “I’ll just.. see you around.”

And then she walked out, banging her horns on the doorway.

And Blake was alone.

“Out of all the bedrooms, she had to choose ours?” said a young, male voice.

“Oh hush. Don’t speak that way about the master.” said another, feminine voice.

Blake whipped her head around. But no one moved.

“Okay, who's talking.” she asked.

The nightstand wobbled side to side, “That would be us,” he said.

“If you don’t like rooming with me, why don’t you just switch rooms then?” Blake countered.

“I’m a nightstand,” said the nightstand, “I can’t walk.” 

“I can move you.” Blake offered.

“No!” squealed the nightstand, “This is my spot! I was here first!” 

“Oh calm down, Whitley.” came the female voice from the blue wardrobe, “It’s been forever since the master had a guest, suck it up.”

“Okay then.” Blake started, attempting to diffuse the tension, “So you’re Whitely, and you are…?”

“Winter, it’s a pleasure.” said the wardrobe.

“Great,” said Blake. 

Fighting furniture. This was her life now.

…

She was in the garden. Yang has absolutely no idea why she spent so much time there. But for some reason, Blake really enjoyed being in the garden.  
Yang had no idea how the garden was even maintained. She didn’t tend to it, and she never saw anyone else maintain it. It was just another mystery of the castle. Like who cooked the food and brought it to Yang’s bedroom door every night, and who tended to the crops and brought water from the well for Yang to drink and bathe in. Whoever it was, or whatever it was, it was very sneaky. But it was nice to know she wasn’t alone. Probably. It was nice to think she wasn’t alone, but with her luck, it was just magic keeping her alive, so she could keep living her boring, agonizingly painful, lonely life, because it hated her. 

Wait, where was she? Ah yes. Blake was in the garden.

And Yang was on the fifth floor balcony, watching her. Blake didn’t know she was there, or, at least, Yang didn’t think Blake knew. If there was one thing Yang knew about Blake, it was that she could be pretty sneaky.

And for that sneakiness, she hadn’t tried to leave. Yang wasn’t sure what to think about that.

Yang had taken to watching Blake go about her day in the castle. She was the most interesting thing Yang had seen in nearly a hundred years, so she was a bit curious. Yang told herself she was trying to work up the courage to go talk to her, but Yang was also pretty sure Blake did want Yang talking to her. So she didn’t. She was also pretty sure Blake hated her, which was fair. Yang hated the person who trapped her in here. Yang didn’t expect Blake to stop hating her. She hoped Blake would tolerate her out of boredom eventually, and they could talk. (Yang had been alone for so long, she wasn’t even sure she knew how to talk to people anymore) But until then, Yang was content watching. 

Except. Blake was gone. Yang scanned the garden, looking for the pretty girl, but didn’t spot her black dress anywhere.

“Hey.”

Yang almost fell off the balcony.

She turned around, and low and behold, there she was.

“Hey.” Yang’s voice cracked. Damn it.

“Were you just planning on watching me all day or…?”

Yang stiffened, “Well no, technically. I was planning on taking a nap later.”

Blake narrowed her eyes, that was not the answer she was looking for, clearly.

“And what did you hope to accomplish by spying on me?”

“I wasn’t spying!” Yang defended herself, “Spying would assume that I thought you were up to something.”

“What would you call it then?”

“People watching?”

Yang leaned against the railing, “In my defense, I did not know you knew I was there.”

“It’s kinda hard not to notice you, Yang. You’re easily eight feet tall. You’re not exactly a mouse.”

And, for the first time in years, Yang felt the warmth of a smile on her face, and she laughed. Yang hadn't had anything to laugh about in decades. And here she was, laughing at being called a mouse by an angry, spitfire of a woman, three feet shorter than her.

And Blake was smiling too.

“To come completely clean,” Yang began, “I have been trying to work up the courage to talk to you for three days. I don’t think I know how to talk to people anymore. It's been… so long…”

Blake took a deep breath, and met Yang’s eye.  
“‘Hi’ would be a nice start.” she said.

Yang hopped off the railing. “Hi.” she said, her voice quiet.

“Hello.” said Blake, “Would you like to come take a walk with me in the garden?”

Yang’s fur stood on end, but she was grateful for it, because Blake wouldn’t be able to see her face flush.

“I would love to.”

…

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, “So, let me get this straight… Blake took off in the middle of the night… four days ago… to stay at the Belladonna beach house… on a whim… and didn’t tell anyone… besides you two?”

Neptune and Sun nodded rapidly in tandem. They had avoided Adam since Blake’s disappearance, and then since Ghira’s unexplained reappearance. No one knew what happened to him on his journey to meet the council in the next town over, he wouldn’t talk about it to anyone (not even Sun and Illia, who had attempted to squeeze it out of him multiple times, but the chieftain wouldn’t budge), and no one had quite noticed Blake was missing yet (she was normally reserved anyway), but Sun knew it wouldn’t last. It was surprising that it had taken Adam this long to notice she was gone, actually. No, wait, it wasn’t surprising. Adam could care less about Blake and her safety. It was one of the things Sun despised about him. 

Sun was normally a good liar, he took pride in it. But when Adam had approached him and Neptune in the marketplace, every excuse for Blake’s disappearance had jumped right out of his head. To be perfectly fair, Adam was very intimidating when he needed to be. Maybe it was that scar over his eye, or his perfectly straight posture, or his scowl, but that guy chilled Sun to the bone.

Sun was especially surprised when Adam had asked Sun where Blake was. As far as Sun knew, Adam couldn’t care less who Blake hung out with, how did he even know they were friends?

Sun was even more surprised when Adam told them Ghira was being very secretive on Blake’s whereabouts, and hadn’t told anyone besides Kali. (Which had made Sun ten times more worried about her.) From what Sun knew, Ghira Belladonna trusted Adam a lot- he had trusted him with the whole town, after all. So the fact that he hadn't told Adam meant something was definitely up.  
But Blake had given Sun specific instructions. And he would not stray from those instructions. Blake didn’t want Adam to follow her, so Sun wouldn’t let him.

And so he told Adam she was at her beach house, because he panicked.

“You heard us.” said Neptune.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” barked Adam.

“Why didn’t you ask sooner?” Sun asked.

Adam gave a long sigh, and walked out of the market.

Sun gave a sigh of relief and his shoulders sagged.

“Does Blake even have a beach house?” Neptune asked, once he was out of sight.

“Yeah, she mentioned it to me once. It’s, like, a week’s journey or something.”

Neptune brought his index finger and his thumb up to his chin, “So we’ve stalled him for two weeks.”  
“We’ll come up with a better lie before he gets back.” Sun promised.

“We better,” said Neptune, “He might kill us if he finds out we were lying.”

“No worries man, I’ve already got a plan.” 

Neptune raised an eyebrow, “Already?”

“Yeah!” Sun exclaimed, “We go over to Illia’s house, and ask her.”

Neptune blinked at him, his face blank. Then a smile creeped into his face.

“I don’t know what I was expecting, honestly.”

“You signed up for this kind of wacky shenanigans when you decided to be my friend.”

“That’s fair.”

Two weeks. He hoped Blake returned by then.

…

It had been nearly a week since Blake arrived in the castle, and she had only seen the Beast a handful of times. She noticed Yang watching her when she thought Blake didn’t know she was there multiple times. After Blake had decided to approach her about it, they had spent time together in the garden. Blake never saw her at dinner. Ruby told her the staff sent food up to her room, that Yang never came down for dinner anymore, that she spent most of her time alone, in her bed, napping. Blake thought that was understandable, being stuck here for so long, one would eventually run out of things to do. But Ruby also said that Yang hasn’t been so active and happy in years, which made Blake wonder, first of all, how long Yang had been here and second of all, what constituted as not active and happy. Because Yang basically slept all day, only leaving her room to watch Blake from the shadows where she thought Blake couldn’t see her. And, from what Blake could tell, while Yang did have a happy soul, it was crushed under the weight of insurmountable sadness. Like, Yang wanted to be happy, and she had the ability to be happy, but she was carrying such a huge weight of grief and loneliness, she couldn’t do it. Sometimes Blake and Yang would be talking and there would be a lull in the conversation, and Yang would look away, and there would be this heaviness to her gaze, as though she was visibly carrying some kind of burden that was actively eating away at her happiness. Blake often wondered if there was something more to this curse she didn’t know about.

One time, she had walked around the castle looking for Yang, when she had heard crashing from the floor above her. When she had gone to investigate, she found Yang in what looked like a large storage room, with walls ripped into with deep claw marks, and furniture torn apart. Yang had been standing in the middle of the room, panting heavily. She had turned around to meet Blake’s eye, and her eyes had been red. Needless to say, Blake had run off immediately. 

Yang had found her later that day to apologize for spooking her. When Blake asked what had made her so angry, Yang had explained that she wasn’t angry. Rather, she had been trying to make herself angry. 

“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?” the Beast had said, “I used to get angry so easily. I remember this boy, he had made a remark about me being top heavy and I didnt even think before tackling him. But now…. I don’t know.”

And then Yang got that Far Away look in her eyes, like she was thinking about something or someone who had passed on with fondness. 

“These days, it’s hard for me to feel anything. I just feel… numb. Empty. Not upset or sad or anything, just… off. Like I’m having a low day, but it never lightens up. Sometimes I’ll thrash around and break things, get my heart pumping, just to feel something- anything… even if it’s anger. But I’m not angry at you.”

Blake hadn’t known what to think of that, except that Yang must have been here a long time.  
While the Beast was an enigma wrapped in mystery, she had gotten to know the talking household object pretty well. 

There was a coatrack named Tiyang, and a pretty ornate cane with a black bird handle named Qrow. They argued a lot, but they seemed close. She had also met the matching set of teacups Penny and Ironwood had come from, Vine, Elm, Clover, Harriet, and Marrow. They all referred to Ironwood as “general” and Blake had unintentionally started doing the same.

There was a hallway of matching suits of armour, one named Phyrrah and one named Jaune. From what Blake gathered, they were together. Then there were the weapons hanging over the fireplace- a war hammer named Nora, and a katana named Ren- who had known each other forever. There was a little footstool that acted like a dog, Tiyang told her he was called Zwei. Then there were the outdoor tools. There was a whole tool shed in the garden that tended to the flowers and the trees and the crops. Blake had only caught a few names. There was a Neon, a Camille, and maybe a Velvet? There were tons more she couldn’t recall. But there was this cute scarecrow named Oscar. He had a big straw hat and orange suspenders, and a little sewn on face. Blake had been helping him gather some of the crops in preparation for tonight’s dinner (they had argued against Blake helping with chores since she was a guest, but Blake wanted to help out. She was bored. And she was as much of a “guest” here as they probably were), when he had said;

“Maria- that's the head chef- asked me to pick raspberries, but I told her we don’t have them anymore. They haven’t grown here in nearly twelve years. Between you and me, I think her memory is going.” he gossiped as they worked, “The only raspberries we know of grow a little while into the forest, so she’ll just have to work with blueberries.”

“Why can’t you get someone to go out there and collect some?” Blake asked, picking a handful of blueberries off a shrub and placing them in the basket that hung off her arm. 

Oscar opened his mouth to respond but no sound came out. This, Blake had learned, was a part of the curse. When this happened, the talking objects were trying to tell her something she didn’t already know about Yang, or the curse, or the castle, or themselves, but the magic of the curse was preventing them from speaking. 

“What, the curse doesn’t let you collect berries?” Blake joked.

But Oscar bit his lip (or, the scarecrow equivalent) and looked away.

“Oh my god I was joking, does the curse really prevent you from picking berries outside the castle? That’s so specific.” said Blake.

“It’s not about berries.” Oscar spoke softly.

“Oh, I get it,” said Blake, “You can’t leave the castle.”

Oscar exhaled, “Oh thank god,” he said, “I’m so bad at keeping things secret. But yeah, the curse forbids us from leaving to far past the gates.”

“Oh, well why don’t I just go get them for you. I’m not cursed.” said Blake.

“But you promised the master you wouldn’t leave!” said Oscar, scandalized.

“I’m going to come back, Oscar.” Blake explained, “Trust me, Yang won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Oscar shifted nervously side to side, not sure how to respond.

“You do trust me, don’t you?” Blake asked.

“Well of course I do, but-“

“Then I’ll be right back!” she interrupted, “Don't wait up for me.”

And with that, she turned around and walked to the gates. 

…

Blake walked along the pathway she had taken to get to the castle in the first place, scanning left and right for raspberry bushes. 

She had forgotten how spooky the forest was. The tall shadows cast by the trees, Blake heard a howl in the distance and could have sworn the trees moved, but she continued on.

She did find them, eventually. When she had picked a satisfactory amount of raspberries, she turned around and walked back to the castle. She tried to gauge how long she had been gone from the movement of the sun, but she couldn’t see it past the trees.

She heard another wolf howl, and couldn’t stop herself from shivering. Back home, wolves only howled when the moon was out, but of course everything by the castle had to be ten times as spooky.

She continued to walk but she heard the howl again, louder this time. She tried to ignore it, but it was joined with other howls. Blake turned around and she saw them on the horizon. A whole pack- at least a dozen wolves, all looking at her.

Blake panicked, she ran- sprinted down the path. She could hear the wolves gaining in her, but she did not turn around.

Out of breath and nearing the castle, she could hear the wolves on her heel. She gathered all her courage and turned around, swinging her basket as hard as she could, as it connected with a wolf’s snout, sending it backwards. 

Blake looked for the castle, but the wolves had surrounded her. Even so, she wouldn’t have been able to make a run for it, the castle was too far away. 

Her hands tightened around the basket, her knuckles white. She knew it wouldn’t really work against them, but it was the only tool she had. The wolves growled and one lunged forward, Blake closed her eyes and held her hands over her head, bracing for impact, but it never came.

Blake heard a mighty roar, growling and whimpering, and she dared to open her eyes.  
It was Yang, on all fours, engaged in combat with the wolves. Yang was easily six times their size, so it was relatively easy for her to bat them around with her massive claws, horns and teeth. But there were a lot of wolves. They retaliated, biting and swiping at Yang, leaving claw and bite marks in her golden fur. To the wolves, Blake was all but forgotten. 

Eventually, acknowledging Yang’s might, the wolves retreated. Yang chased after them but several paces forward, she seemed to bang into an invisible wall, and she took a few steps back. 

Yang’s breath was hard, and she turned around to meet Blake’s eye, and Blake saw Yang’s eyes turn from red to purple. Yang’s body dropped, and she hit the forest floor.

Blake, who had been frozen in fear until that moment, walked over to where the Beast lay. She kneeled down next to her and this close up, she could see the damage the wolves had done. There were claw marks up her arms, on her legs and chest, and one particularly deep cut on her right forearm. Blake heard the howling of the wolves in the distance and shivered.

She grabbed one of Yang’s arms and swung it over her shoulders, and (although Yang was heavy) she managed to tow her off, back to the castle.

…

When Yang woke up, she was sitting in her chair by the fireplace. She heard water dripping. Her ears twitched, looking for the source. 

When she opened her eyes, she saw Blake kneeling on the floor, with a bucket of warm water and a cloth.

Their eyes met.

“Oh,” she said, “When did you wake up?”

Yang sat up in her chair, her muscles ached.  
“Just now. Why?”

“I wanted to start helping you clean your wounds so they don’t get infected, but I felt weird about doing it while you were passed out.”

“That’s fair.”

Blake grabbed Yang’s right arm and put the warm cloth against it- and it stung. 

Yang instinctively cried out, though it sounded more like a roar than anything else. Blake flinched away.

“Sorry,” said Yang through gritted teeth, “That strung.” 

Blake tentatively reached for Yang’s arm again, and placed the cloth to it, but this time Yang was prepared, and bit down a yelp.

Watching Blake work, Yang couldn’t help but feel her heart ache. When she saw Blake walking from the castle, she knew she must have been running away. Not that Yang blames her, if Yang could leave knowing she had somewhere she could actually go, she would leave as well. And it wasn’t like Yang could stop her- not without hurting her, that is, and she hadn’t wanted to do that. So all Yang could do was watch her go. When Yang saw Blake coming back- sprinting back- she knew something was off. Yang probably should have warned her about the wolves. But for some reason, Yang hadn’t thought it would be necessary, that this girl would be different from the others. That this one would stay. Foolish of her.

Yang swallowed, but decided to say something to break the silence.

“If you were going to run away, you should at least prepare yourself better. Bring a sword or a machete or something.” Yang suggested, “Otherwise the wolves will eat you alive.”

Blake looked up from her work, “Who says I’m running away?”

Yang tilted her head to the side, confused. “Isn’t that… was that not what you were doing out there?”

“No.” Blake explained, “I was collecting raspberries. They… I saw some when I was riding here. I thought I’d make a pie.”

“So… you weren’t running away?” Yang asked.

“I promised I wouldn’t.” Blake stated simply.

“Well yeah, but I figured-“

“I don’t break promises, Yang.” said Blake, her mouth in a firm line.

“Right.” remarked Yang, taken aback. 

They sat in silence for a moment, until Blake was satisfied with one arm and moved to another.

“So,” Blake began, “How did you know where to find me?” 

Yang dropped her gaze to the floor. 

“I watched you leave. Then you came back, and you were running, and I heard the wolves, so I knew something was wrong.”

“And you thought I was going to leave for good, and you didn’t stop me?” 

“What was I supposed to do, grab you by your hair and drag you back inside? I may be confusing and distant and hard to get to know, but I’m not cruel. Besides, when I saw you, you had already made it past the gate. I can’t…”

Yang weighed the pros and cons of continuing her sentence… Blake might be less scared of her if she did, but she also might be so unafraid that she would leave. But she did say that she didn’t break promises…

“The curse, it won’t let me leave.” Yang explained, “I can only go about twenty yards past the gate before the curse stops me.”

Blake flicked her eyes up to Yang.

“Oh! That’s why, when you tried to chase the wolves, you ran into an invisible wall.”  
Yang nodded.

They sat in silence for a small moment. Relief filled Yang’s senses. Relief that Blake hadn’t been trying to leave. Not that Yang would fool herself into thinking Blake would stay forever, no one did. But at least she was safe for now. 

“Wait,” said Yang, “I thought the food made itself. Why would you bake a pie?”

Blake shrugged. “Dunno. I’m bored?”

Again, Yang nodded. 

“I’ll probably hold off on the pie until tomorrow, though.”

Once more, Yang nodded.

Blake took a deep breath, “Would you like to help me?” 

“With the pie?” asked Yang, confused as to why Blake would want Yang’s help with anything.

“What else would I be talking about?” Blake remarked dryly.

“I dunno. I just…” Yang trailed off, “Yes. I would love to.”

“Great.”

They continued in silence, until Blake broke it.  
“And thanks. Y’know. For saving me.”

“Thanks for bringing me back here, and helping me with the scratches.”

“Sure.” said Blake noncomitantantly. 

And Yang’s eyes felt heavy as she listened to the cackling of the fire, Blake’s steady hands the only thing keeping her from falling asleep. 

…

Apparently, all it took was a week and a half for rumors to start. 

The Chieftain's daughter goes missing. Then Adam, her fiancé goes missing four days later. Then the Chieftain himself stops hosting hearings, and becomes a recluse, barely being seen or heard, constantly making trips out of town. Then the Chieftain’s wife refuses to comment on the subject.  
Had Illia not already known what she knew, she’d be pretty suspicious too. And what Illia knew wasn’t much. 

All she knew was that when Chieftain Ghira had left to go to the next town over, his horse had returned without him in the middle of the night, running into Blake and Sun. Blake had made Sun promise not to say anything about it to anyone, and to make sure Adam doesn’t follow, and then ran off to find him. Then, the next morning, the Chieftain returned on the horse without Blake, looking scared. And then told no one but his wife what happened to him, or what happened to his daughter. Not even Adam, who he trusted everything with. Then Adam, tired of not getting answers from Ghira, asked Sun and Neptune, who made up some story about her being at her beach house, to which he promptly set off to.

Only five people knew this version of the story, her, Sun, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet. They had told Ghira what they already knew in an attempt to learn more from him, but Ghira refused. He had seemed pretty freaked out. And the Chieftain was a very brave man, braver than Illia could ever hope to be (and Illia considered herself pretty dang courageous), so if something spooked him, well, let’s just say that Illia was scared for her best friend. 

The group had tried a lot of tactics to get the full story out of Ghira. Logic. Cornering him. Guilt. Pleading. Crying (the crying was only done by Sun no matter what he tells you, Illia did not cry. Not even a little). Begging. But he didn’t budge. The most they had gotten out of him was when he had said;

“Sorry kids, I want to help you but… she'll only be in a worse spot if I did.”

Which had only made her more anxious, if anything. 

That’s when Ghira started disappearing.  
He would start leaving town on “errands” for days at a time, then come back, having accomplished nothing. Kali was doing all of his work while he was away, and she was definitely being overworked, running this town wasn't meant for one person.  
That’s when rumors started.

The town was small, and gossip spread quickly. One rumor Illia heard was that Blake and Adam had eloped and were now in the run because Ghira disapproved of their marriage. Another one was that Adam had killed Blake and was now in the run. Another was that Ghira was ill, and Blake and Adam had gone to the big city to find a cure for him. Illia doubted all of these. But something was definitely up. 

Since Illia couldn’t find any more answers, she decided to focus on the thing she could do.  
She, Sun, Neptune , Scarlet, and Sage, stood around in Illia’s bedroom, to avoid being overheard, as they debated what lie to tell Adam when he returned in a couple days. So far, all the ideas had been trashy.

“What if- hear me out guys,” Sun began, “We tell him she decided to become a pirate?”

“Why would Blake become a pirate?” asked Sage.

“I don’t know, she read it in a book and thought it was a good idea.”

“But this is a bad idea.” Illia scowled.

“No, you’re not hearing me out,” Sun continued, “If we say Blake’s on a ship in the middle of nowhere, Adam won’t be able to track her down! I mean, what’s he gonna do, search every ship in the ocean?”

“That might work, actually.” agreed Neptune.

“Of course you’re taking Sun’s side.” murmured Scarlet.

Neptune’s face flushed red, “First of all, there’s no sides! Second of all, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think you know what it means.” shot Scarlet.

“Okay, but I think we’re missing one crucial detail,” interrupted Illia, ignoring the entire argument, “How could Blake have told us she decided to become a pirate when she’s at her beach house?”

“Maybe she stopped here on her way to piratedom?” suggested Neptune, glad for the change of subject.

“Oh! What if she wrote us a letter!” said Sun.

“How could the letter have gotten here before Adam did?” asked Sage.

“Pigeon mail?” Sun added.

“Since when has Blake had a pigeon?” asked Scarlet.

“This is crashing and burning so hard.” remarked Illia. 

“Okay, we’re scrapping the idea.” decided Scarlet.

“But-“ Neptune began.

“It’s scrapped.”

The five of them stood in silence again, deep in thought.

“What if we staged her death?” Sun suggested.

“What?!” gasped Illia.

“Hear me out-“

“No.” demanded Scarlet.

“But I haven't even-“

“No.” 

Illia let out a long sigh. They were going to be here a while.

…

Blake was washing out the raspberries in the sink when the door creaked open behind her. Blake turned around to see Yang, standing awkwardly at the threshold. 

“You’re just in time,” Blake began, “I’m just washing the fruit. You can start with the crust. I have all the ingredients out on the counter.”

Yang ducked into the room, and walked over to the counter. Then, she stared at the ingredients, as if the shear force of her gaze was enough to combine them into batter.

“You okay over there?” Blake asked.

“I’ve never baked a pie before.” Yang admitted.  
Blake sighed, placing the now washed raspberries to the side and walking over to the Beast’s aid.

Blake really wasn’t sure why she invited Yang to help her with the stupid pie, Blake could make one easily enough herself. And she didn’t even need to bake for herself, in fact, Maria was enraged that Blake was going to bake a pie without her (Maria, as it turned out, was a cranky old lady stove and couldn’t cook a pie if the Beast was in the room). 

And yet, she had offered anyway. Maybe it was because of how soft and fragile Yang had looked when Blake had been taking care of her last night. Blake remembered her asleep, curled up on herself in the seat by the fire, looking small, helpless (both traits Blake had never attributed to her before). 

Maybe it was because Blake had startled herself by being actually really worried about her, when the last time Blake had checked, she hated Yang. Or. She should hate Yang. She was supposed to hate Yang. Everything would be easier if she hated Yang. But somehow, she found herself not hating Yang. It was… unsettling. 

The Beast had trapped her here with a promise. The Beast had taken her from her family, who she’d never see again. The Beast was keeping her locked in a rotting castle with only herself and talking furniture for company. The Beast didn’t know how to make crust for a pie and Blake found it /charming/. 

Nothing was making sense anymore. When had Blake stopped thinking of Yang as a threat?  
Shaking the water off her hands and the thoughts from her head, she walked over to where Yang stood at the counter, looking lost.

“How have you lived in this castle for… how many years? And you’ve never baked in here before?”  
Yang looked away sheepishly, “No ones ever taught me. Except…” 

Yang’s smile faded. “It’s not important. It was a long time ago, I’ve forgotten.”

Not for the first time, curiously pricked at Blake, wondering who Yang really was, how she had gotten like this.

Blake shook it away, intent on the task at hand.  
“Okay, well, to start, we’re gonna need flour. Two cups, at least. Maybe three.”

Tentatively, Yang unrolled the bag of flour and held the cup in one hand, then she dumped the flour from the bag to the cup, making the flower dust go everywhere. On the counter, and stuck between Yang’s fur.

Yang’s nose twitched and she sneezed, putting both the bag and the cup back down on the counter. Blake hid a snicker, and Yang went to lick herself.

Blake swatted her hand away, “No, don’t do that.”  
Yang shook her head back and forth, sending excess flour to the floor.

“It’s a miracle that isn’t expired.” Yang commented.  
Blake giggles before she could stop herself, and Yang beamed, proud of herself.

“I’ll go find more flour,” Blake resigned.

She souranged the cabinets, and eventually she did find more, but she did the other two cups herself.

“Now we need a pinch of salt and sugar.” Blake continued.

Blake put in the salt, and Yang did the sugar. Evidently, Yang’s pinch was bigger than hers, which was fine, nothing wrong with a sweet pie crust.

“Now we need about a pound of butter.”

“Where the heck are we supposed to find butter?” Yang lamented, “It comes from cows, and we don’t have cows here. And doesn’t it have to be, like, churned?” 

To which Blake responded by pulling out a huge block of butter from the cooler.

“I’m not even going to question that.” said Yang.  
Blake eyeballed a pound and cut it off with a kitchen knife. 

“Next is cold water.”

“So, regular water then?” Yang joked.

Blake did not smile, she did not.

Yang fetched the water from the well and returned, bucket of icy water in hand. Again, Blake eyeballed it.

Blake took the large, wooden spoon and began mixing the ingredients together.

Eventually (with a lot of effort), Blake managed to make the mixture smooth.

“What now?” Yang asked.

“We put it in the pie tin.”

Yang gave Blake a mock salute, “Aye aye, captain!”

Yang scooched the pie tin towards Blake, who took the dough from the bowl and ripped it in two. 

“Here,” said Blake, handing Yang half.

“This is the bottom of the pie. You’ve gotta make it circular and flat so it’ll fit. I’m going to make the sides.”

“Gotcha.” Yang replied.

She then proceeded to knead at the dough like a kitten, but Blake didn’t think that was cute at all. She was probably shedding fur into the pie crust.  
Eventually, they got the dough into the shape they wanted, and placed it in the pie tin.

“Do we put the raspberries in now?”

“Yep.” said Blake, taking the bowl in her hands.  
She unceremoniously dumped the whole thing into the pie tin.

“Nice.” she commented.

“Indeed.” Yang agreed.

Blake lifted the tin off the counter.

“Now we just gotta cook it.”

Yang ran over to the stove and lit a fire. Blake placed the pie on top of the stove. They stepped back and admired their handiwork.

“Great!” Yang exclaimed, “Now what?”

“We wait for it to be done.”

“Awesome. And how long will that take?”

“Like, half an hour, probably more.”

“Oh.”

And then they stood there.

“This would be a good time to have a conversation probably.” said Yang.

“Yeah, probably.” said Blake.

“Was there anything you wanted to talk about?” Yang asked.

Blake could think of a few things. 

She wanted to know where Yang came from, who placed this curse on her and everyone else in the castle. Why they did it. Everything the curse entails. How long Yang and the others have been here. How many other humans have been here. What exactly Yang has gone through that has made her like this. But Blake learned the hard way that when someone didn’t talk freely about themselves, it was best to leave them alone. Adam hadn’t liked intrusive questions.

“What’s the deal with this castle?” Blake asked. 

“It’s, like, so old. It’s basically falling apart. Wonder who used to live here.”

“Lots of people.” said Yang. 

Blake hadn’t been expecting an answer, so she turned to meet Yang’s eyes.

“Did you know them?” she asked, quietly.

Yang nodded, “There was a kitchen staff, and palace guards, and maids, and butlers, and gardners. Basic castle stuff.”

“Where did they all go?” Blake asked.

Yang shrugged. “No idea. One second they were here and the next…”

“Like magic?” asked Blake.

“The worst kind of magic.” Yang confirmed.

“Like a curse?” Blake suggested knowingly.

Yang nodded solemnly, “Yep, the worst kind.”

“How so?”

“I can’t go into the forest to collect raspberries in the middle of the night. All of my evening plans, tragically canceled!” Yang cried sarcastically. 

Blake laughed again, batting Yang in the arm.

“But what about you?” Yang continued, “I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“Okay. You tell me something about you, and I’ll tell you something about me.” Yang suggested.

“Alright, I’ll go first.” Blake began, “Back at Menagerie- that's the name of my town- we had this bookshop, and I’ve read every book in there at least twice. My favorite story is Goldilocks.”

Yang tilted her head to the side, intrigued, “You like to read?”

“Yep,” said Blake.

“I’ve never been a big reader. I used to read bedtime stories to my little sister before…” Yang did not finish.

“You had a family once?” Blake asked, her voice small.

“Yeah I know. Surprised that a monster like me came from somewhere?” Yang joked, and although her tone was light, she spoke softly, like she was still grieving.

“No!” Blake squealed. “Not at all! I mean, I know you must have come from somewhere I just… I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess it’s… like… easier not to think about that stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Yang asked, leaning over the countertop.

“Who used to live here. What happened to them. Every possibility I think of… nothing good could have happened here. Just thinking about it makes me sad. And you had to live through it, didn’t you?”

Yang’s fawn eats dropped and Yang lowered her head into her folded arms, which lay on the countertop. 

“Yes.” she said. “But you’d be surprised at all the good that used to happen here. This was a happy place, once.”

“Like what?” asked Blake.

“Nuh uh, it’s your turn.” Yang smiled from behind her forearms.

Blake sighed.

“Hey, you agreed to these rules!” Yang reminded.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Lemme think…” Blake spoke, “Oh! I didn’t have a lot of friends until later in life. Like when I was a kid, I wasn’t really social. I always had my nose in a book. I liked escaping into fantasy worlds, reading about other people’s adventures instead of having my own, I just had one friend, Illia. I have a handful now- or, I mean…”

Blake gave a vague hand gesture, “You know what I mean.” 

Yang looked away, “Yeah I know. It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

Blake nodded.

“I know what you want to know, but I don’t know what happened to the people that lived here. I don’t even know why it happened. Everyone was here and then suddenly, I was alone, unable to leave. There was this witch. She just came in, she was angry and… and she cursed me. That’s basically what happened, anyway. I’m not really in the mood to tell the whole story right now.”

Blake nodded understandingly. Being cursed to be alone forever was no small thing, if Blake were in her position, she wouldn’t want to talk about it either. Blake had trouble talking about her trauma as it was.

“I think the worst part of the whole thing is looking like this. If people came in here and saw a lonely maiden, they wouldn’t hesitate to help me. But instead, they come in here and take one look at me- one look- and they run away, or try to kill me.” Yang shook her head, “I don’t know. I just think it’d be easier if I wasn’t a monster, y’know?”

“You’re not a monster,” said Blake.

Yang laughed halfheartedly, “What would you call it then?”

“Not ‘monster’. I’ve known monsters, and trust me, you’re not like that.”

Yang tore her eyes away, “You hardly know me.”

“I know enough.” said Blake.

They stood there for a moment, the silence comfortable. Yang looked up at her from where her head lay in her arms. Suddenly, Blake smelt burning. She turned around and the pie was smoking.

“Oh god,” Blake exclaimed, grabbing an oven mitt and taking it off the stove.

…

The pie, very burnt, sat on the dining room table. Blake, knife in hand, cut into the food. She managed to place a piece on a plate for Yang, then one for herself. 

Tentatively, Blake picked up her fork, and took a bite. 

“Well,” Yang began, “It has a very distinctive flavor. It has a personality. You can’t deny that.” 

“It’s horrendous.” said Blake.

“I’ll eat it if you won’t.” said Yang, holding her slice in her paw like a pizza. It was all over her face, in addition to the flour.

“You can have mine, then.” Blake offered.

“Sweet,” said Yang, sliding the plate towards herself.

Blake tried not to, but she couldn’t help smiling to herself as Yang stuffed her face, not caring about how she must have looked, food stuck to her fur. 

…

Kali tapped her pen against the desk. This paperwork had to be done by the morning, and she had barely started it. She felt like she never got a break from work anymore. But it was worth it, to allow Ghira the freedom to search for Blake. Kali hates to even think about her precious daughter locked away in some castle with a monster.  
But Kali was tired, she was burning the candle at both ends. But only Ghira knew where the castle was, even if he hadn’t been able to find it again after over two weeks of searching, Kali had faith in him. He would rescue their baby.

Kali gave a sigh, and she heard the door behind her creek.

“Ghira,” she began, “Any luck?”

She turned around, but it wasn’t Ghira. Adam stood behind her, worried expression on his face.  
“Oh! Adam dear.” she corrected, “Lovely to see you. I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks, where’ve you been? What brings you by this late?”

Adam walked up to her desk, “I’ve been out searching for Blake, Sun said she was staying at your beach house.” 

“The beach house?” Kali asked, “Why would she be there?”

“I’m sure I don’t know, because she wasn’t, and you won’t tell me where to find her.”

Kali sighed and placed her pen down on the table.  
“I wish I could tell you, I really do, but Ghira and I have decided that it's for the best that we don’t make a big deal of it right now. I assure you, he and I have it under control, you don't need to worry about her.” Kali explained.

Adam flicked his gaze to the floor, looking scorned. Kali knew how much that poor boy cared about Blake, but Ghira had said that the Beast in the castle had warned him not to tell anyone of its existence, and he and Kali were afraid harm might come to Blake if they told anyone else. 

“And I suppose you won’t tell me why the town thinks Mr. Belladonna has decided to become a hermit?” Adam asked humorly.

Kali chuckled, “Ghira is just busy right now,” she fibbed, “His schedule will loosen eventually.”

“Meanwhile, you’re stuck doing all his work?” Adam concluded.

“It’s no big deal, I have it handled,” Kali spoke.  
Adam looked to the piles of papers stacked on her desk when, suddenly, his lips quirked into a smile.

“You know, if it’s too much to handle for you right now, I could help you with some paperwork.” he suggested.

“You don’t have to, dear.” said Kali.

“No, it’s no big deal, I can handle it,” Adam reassures her, “Besides, you let me help you run the whole town for a day while the Chieftain was away just earlier this month. This wouldn’t be much different.”

“Even so, this seems like something I should talk about with Ghira first.”

“But wasn’t he the one who thought I was ready for this sort of thing? Blake and I are getting married in a month, I can more than handle it. I’m sure he would approve. Besides,” he spoke, leaning over Kali’s chair, “You look exhausted. This town isn’t meant to be run by one person, even Ghira knows that. and I’m sure he wouldn’t dump all his work on you- neglect you- if it weren’t very important. But it’s neglect all the same. You deserve a break, and I could take a load off of all that stress you’re carrying. Doesn’t that make the most sense? I’m going to be Chieftain one day, not only is this a good experience for me, but it should be expected of me. I’m only worried about you, Kali.”

Kali shifted her tired eyes to the piles of unfinished work on her desk. She found it hard to argue against that logic.

“Only if it isn’t too much trouble.” she decided.  
Adam’s smile widened.

“Never.”

…

Blake’s heels clacked against the marble floor as she followed Yang through the empty castle. 

“Are we there yet?” she asked.

“Not yet,” she responded, her voice light.

They arrived at a large, oak door. Yang walked up to it, but hesitated before opening.

“You’ve gotta close your eyes,” she said.

“What?!” Blake laughed.

“Just do it.” said Yang.

Blake rolled her eyes but did as instructed.  
She heard the doors swing open, and Yang grabbed her hand, and led her into the room.

“What is it that you miss most about Menagerie?” 

Yang asked, letting Blake’s hands go.

“Uh… normal wolves?” she joked.

She heard a whoosh, fabric being shoved aside, and the room got brighter. 

She must have shoved back the curtains, Blake thought.

“Nuh uh. Try again.” said Yang.

Blake laughed, “Uh- the bookstore?”

Suddenly Yang was holding Blake’s hands again. Her paws soft, holding her delicately, as though she might break.

“Open your eyes.”

And she did.

She was a huge room, and on every wall there were rows and rows of books, reaching the ceiling. The room was bigger than her whole house back home, and it was covered wall to wall with books.

“Is this… a library?” Blake asked, awed.

“Yes.” Yang answered, “Do you like it?”

Blake couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery, how had she, in the three weeks she had been here, not find this place? 

“It’s amazing.” she said.

“Then it’s yours.” said Yang.

Blake turned around quickly, back to her.

“The whole thing?” she asked.

Yang nodded.

“Are you sure?” said Blake, her smile nearly as wide as her face.

“Yeah. I don’t go in here often anyways. I thought you’d get more use out of it than me.” Yang explained.

“I don’t know why not, this place is amazing!” Blake repeated, “I could live here.”

“There’s three floors,” Yang began, “We can go explore.” 

“Sounds like an adventure.” said Blake, grabbing onto Yang’s paw and running off. 

They spent the rest of the day there. Blake, pulling books from their shelves at random, collecting an increasingly large pile of books she wanted to read. They had all sorts of different sections, books on topics she had never even heard of. Yang let Blake stand on her shoulders to see the books farther up. Eventually, they retired to her pile and Blake began reading them. At some point she had started reading them out loud, so Yang could hear too.  
It was night, and Yang was laying on Blake’s legs like a contented house cat while Blake read from “Little Red Riding Hood” when Yang had giggled.

Blake had just been reading the story; “When Little Red Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her Grandmother.  
‘Grandmother! Your voice sounds so odd, is something the matter?’ she asked. ‘Oh, I just have a touch of a cold,’ squeaked the wolf, adding a cough at the end to prove the point. ‘But Grandmother! What big ears you have,’ said Little Red Riding Hood as she edged closer to the bed. ‘The better to hear you with, my dear,’ replied the wolf. ‘But Grandmother! What big eyes you have,’ said Little Red Riding Hood. ‘The better to see you with, my dear,’ replied the wolf. ‘But Grandmother! What big teeth you have,’ said Little Red Riding Hood, her voice quivering slightly. ‘The better to eat you with, my dear,’ roared the wolf-“

And then Yang had giggled, “This story is such bogus.”

“Bogus how?” asked Blake.

“I mean, c'mon, it was a wolf dressed up as a old lady. They aren’t even the same species! What, is Little Red blind? Imagine if I dressed up in a spotted tunic and reading glasses, would you believe I was your nana?”

Blake rolled her eyes, “There’s this thing called the suspension of disbelief, Yang.” 

“My disbelief can only be suspended so far,” Yang complained, “This was always the point in the story where I would launch myself at Ruby and pretend to bite her in the sides, like the wolf would have. She had a squeal that could shatter glass. Probably didn’t help that it would always end in a tickle fight.”

“Ruby?” Blake asked, immediately thinking of the candlestick.

“My little sister,” Yang explained, “I told you, I used to read her stories before bed. Little Red Riding hood was one of her favorites.”

Blake nodded, “Ruby’s a nice name. Did she… did she disappear too? Sorry, I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything-“

“No, it’s alright.” said Yang, taking a deep breath. “But yeah, she did. Here one minute and gone the next.”

Blake, without thinking, ran a hand through Yang’s mane. She went back to reading.

…

Blake had tried before to picture what Yang’s little sister would look like, and she imagined a creature similar to Yang, maybe smaller or something.

But now all that Blake could think about was Ruby.  
Blake had fallen asleep on top of Yang while they were reading. Yang had fallen asleep on Blake’s lap and she hadn’t had the heart to move her- so Blake stayed put- eventually falling asleep herself. That had been awkward to explain when they had woken up.

But as soon as she was alone, Blake sought out Ruby, finding her in one of the empty rooms. This one had a grand piano in it, which was where Ruby was seated.

“Ruby!” Blake had approached her.

“Oh, hello Blake, what’s-“

“You weren’t always a candlestick, were you?”

Ruby looked up at her quickly, flinching, “What do you know?”

“Yang said she had a little sister, that she would read her bedtime stories before bed. She said her name was Ruby,” Blake explained, “That’s you, isn’t it?”

Ruby smiled, “Yeah,” she confirmed, “Yang’s my big sis! Well, by half anyway, different moms. When we were really tiny, our parents weren’t really in the picture that much, but Yang always was. I had my childhood, thanks to her.”

…

Armed with the knowledge that all the objects in the castle used to be real people working there, she spent the next few weeks trying to get to know everyone. They weren’t able to directly tell her what their jobs used to be- or anything about themselves really- but Blake had found a way around that. She would ask them yes or no questions and when the curse stopped them from answering “yes”, that’s when she knew she had gotten it right. So far, she had found out that Qrow was a royal advisor, Nora and Ren were personal trainers for the young ladies of the castle (whoever they were). Tiyang was Yang’s dad (she got this knowledge from Yang specifically), although she couldn’t find out what his role in the castle had been. Neither could she figure out Ruby’s. She did know that Ruby worked closely with Weiss, and that Weiss had been some sort of maid. 

Then there was Ironwood, who had been called “general” by the teacups because that was his ranking, he was general of the royal guard. The teacups (Penny, Clover, Marrow, Harriet, Elm, and Vine) were high ranking soldiers in the guard, while Phyrra and Jaune were low ranking foot soldiers. Winter had some undisclosed maid job as well, while Whitley worked in the palace archives (a very fancy way of saying he was an intern at the library). Zwei didn’t talk, but she was ninety-nine percent sure he was just a dog. Oscar worked as a farm hand, attending to the crops, while Maria had been the head chef. Yang didn’t talk about herself enough for Blake to know what she did, and Blake didn’t pry. While, logically, Blake knew if she asked Yang about herself, she wouldn’t shy away from answering, but Blake didn’t want to make her anxious or uneasy. Yang was not like Adam, that much Blake was sure of. But that man had ruined her trust.

Blake, once again, asked Ruby and Weiss if they were sure Yang shouldn’t know all of her friends were here, just turned into household objects.  
Once again, they told her it would only make her upset.

…

Months past, the summer turned into fall and Blake spent her time in the gardens.

She and Yang would walk around and talk anything and everything. Blake talked about Sun and her other friends back home, trying to avoid talking about Adam (the subject would ruin her good mood), while Yang would talk about her life in the castle, before the curse.

She would talk about her father, Tiyang, and her sister, Ruby, but never her mother.

Blake was curious but again, she didn’t ask.  
“Man, you’re almost as obsessed with this garden as Winter was.” Yang had said.

“I’m not obsessed!” Blake countered, “Whose Winter?”

“Oh, she was my lady in waiting,” said Yang, trotting over to the fountain.

“You had a lady in waiting? Isn’t that reserved for nobles and stuff?” asked Blake. 

Blake was a chieftain's daughter, and was by no means poor, but she was nowhere near rich enough to warrant a lady in waiting. But Yang just nodded her head.

“Wait,” Blake began, walking over to the fountain, sitting down on the ledge, “Wait. You… you’re a noble? You’re like… royalty?”

Yang, from her spot in the grass, looked up at her, “Of course! Why, can’t you just imagine me in a floor length ball gown? Attending balls and royal banquets?” she smiled sarcastically.

Blake laughed, trying to imagine the seven foot beast in a gown, and failed.

Yang had a chuckle before casting her gaze downward. 

“Yeah, they weren’t really comfortable anyway.” she admitted.

“You really were royalty once?” Blake asked.  
Yang nodded shyly. 

“You were the lady of the castle. Your family lived here.” Blake realized.

“Yep. We all did.” she said.

Shoving her anxiety aside, she asked; “We can talk about it, if you want.” Blake risked.

Yang looked up at her from beneath golden eyelashes, and Blake half expected her to be mad, like Adam would have been, but Yang gave her a sad smile.

“Sure,” she said, “Why not?”

…

Blake had been in the castle for nearly two months now, and she was still finding out new things. Like how Ruby and Yang were not only royalty, but had been princesses, and Tiyang a king. 

How Weiss had been Ruby’s lady in waiting, and how the tiny teacup Penny had been assigned Ruby’s personal guard, since the girl had a tendency to get into trouble, and needed constant supervision.

And Blake still hadn’t explored all of the castle. To be fair, she mostly visited the library and the gardens. 

But for nearly two months, Yang had never come down to dinner. After a certain hour of night, Yang would return to her room, to what she was told Yang would sleep and sulk. 

Blake started down at her dinner, pea soup. Again, Ruby sat next to her, as custom. 

“Well?” Ruby asked, “What does it taste like?”

Blake slurped her soup and smacked her mouth thoughtfully.

“Soupy.” she decided. 

“Soupy.” said Ruby, imagining the taste. 

Blake placed her spoon back down on the table with a soft clink.

“Ruby,” she began, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” said Ruby, “What’s up?” 

“Why doesnt Yang ever eat dinner with us?”

Ruby though momentarily, then spoke, “Well, I’m not sure. She doesn’t really like eating, I suppose.”  
“No, that can’t be it..” said Blake, thinking back to the many times she saw Yang eat pies straight from the tin.

“I’m sure if you asked her, she’d come.” said Ruby, a smile on her face.

Blake elected to ignore that.

…

Blake walked around the castle, trying to find Yang. There were a couple hours before dinner, and Blake hadn’t seen her all day, she wanted to invite Yang to dinner. She made her way up a staircase and she suddenly didn’t know where she was. She went down a staircase and rounded a corner and still, she was lost.

She opened a door and she was led into a room she had never been in before. 

Blake had noticed that there were no mirrors in the castle, and now, she knew why. The room was full of mirrors. All different sizes, all broken. There were dresses- ball gowns, torn to shreds. Random items on podiums, like trophies. Paintings, portraits, with claw marks torn into them.

As Blake walked into the room, she nearly walked into one of the portraits. She ran a hand over it (it was torn apart by thick claws), and saw familiar, violet eyes. 

Blake stepped away and continued walking around the room. Yang definitely wasn’t here, but this whole room was very intriguing, and Blake had always been naturally curious. 

The room had a balcony and just before that balcony, there was another pedestal. This one had a glass covering, inside it, floated a glowing, wilting, red rose. 

Blake walked towards it, reaching out to touch it, when the door slammed open violently.  
Yang stood at the threshold, taking in the scene around her. She spotted Blake, her expression morphing into one of fear, and ran over to the rose, pushing Blake aside. 

“Did you touch it?” Yang spat, “Did you do anything in here?” 

“No,” said Blake, “No, I didn’t. What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Leave this place.” Yang growled.

“What?” Blake asked.

“I said get out! Now!” Yang roared powerfully, shaking the room.

Before Blake knew it, she was on her feet, fleeing from the room, sprinting down the hall.

…

Yang found Blake in her room.

She felt awful for yelling at her, but the panic that had arisen inside her when she saw her by the rose made her snap, and she needed to apologize, to explain herself.

The door creaked when she opened it, and Blake was laying in her bed.

“Hi,” said Yang from the threshold, “Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you.”

Blake sat up and nodded, allowing her to walk inside, patting next to herself in the bed, inviting Yang to sit down.

And she did.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you.” Yang began, “I didn’t mean to frighten you, but I had asked you not to go in the east wing. Something very important to me is in that room, and I was afraid you had touched it.”

Blake put her face in her knees, “The rose?” she asked, “What’s so special about it?”

Yang took a deep breath.

“Okay,” she began, “It’s time I told you the whole story.”

…

Yang had been two months old when her mother left. She had been making Yang’s life hell ever since.

Tiyang, her father, had been born royalty, Raven, her mother, had been born a bandit. They had fallen in love anyway. When Raven had married her father, Tiyang thought she’d be happy, but she wasn’t. 

Raven missed the life of an outlaw. The adventure, the risk. She had not been made to be royalty.  
Unlike her twin brother, Qrow, who had turned away from crime and found himself a rewarding job in the palace as a royal advisor, Raven couldn’t enjoy living here. She was antsy, itching for a life of adventure. 

She had given birth to the princess Yang Xio Long and left her and the king for a life of crime. She was never seen in the kingdom again.

But Tiyang and Qrow had raised Yang on their own. With the help of a whole castle staff, of course. Soon, Tiyang had remarried to a beautiful maiden named Summer Rose, and had a new daughter, Ruby Rose. Yang and Ruby got along very well, and Summer had been a wonderful, kind mom to both of them. But it was not meant to last.

Summer had been assassinated by bandits.  
After losing two wives, Tiyang reasonably fell into a depression, unable to give his full attention to his duties or his daughters.

When Yang was just ten years old, she picked up where her father left off raising Ruby. 

Sure, they had Qrow and the maids and the butlers, but Yang had been the one to read Ruby bedtime stories. Yang had been the one who Ruby woke when she had a nightmare. Yang had been the one to encourage her activities and interests. When Yang had been about sixteen, Tiyang had begun healing and re entering his daughters' lives.  
Yang had a good education, and good friends. She was a jokester, a prankster, she was good for a laugh. Always smiling, always happy. And when she wasn’t, she pretended. For Ruby’s sake. It was a habit she developed. 

To put on a smile for others, to assure them she was okay, when she really wasn’t. 

She was getting on fine and all, she was in no danger of dying, but she hadn’t been purely happy in a long time. 

She had a growing interest in her mother- Raven. Tiyang never talked about her, Yang didn’t know anything about her. She would not be happy with what she found out.

She remembers that day like it was yesterday.  
Yang was nineteen. She was in the garden with Ruby. The younger had plucked a red rose from its stem and gave it to Yang.

“Look”, she had said, “It’s me.”

Yang had laughed and kept it.

There was a dinner party, a ball, later that evening. Yang was in her room, Winter was helping her get dressed. She had woven the rose into Yang’s hair.  
Yang was wearing a yellow, floor length ball gown. It had been pouring buckets outside. But inside was warm and alive with people, dancing and talking.

All of the warmth sucked out of the room when the witch walked in. She said her name was Salem. She said Yang’s mother, Raven, had done her a great injustice. She said she wanted to get revenge. She said once she sought out Raven, she had found out she was killed. Salem had come here because Yang was the only biological family Raven had, and Salem wanted Yang to hurt like Raven had hurt her.

She had taken the rose from Yang’s hair (she still remembered the coldness of her skin) and used it to put a curse on Yang, on the castle, and everyone in it. 

Suddenly, Yang’s vision went dark, and she could feel her body change. Her skin growing fur, her head growing horns, her mouth growing fangs. When she opened her eyes, everyone had been gone. Salem returned to Yang the rose, saying that if Yang could not find out how to break the curse and do so before the rose wilted, she would be stuck looking like a beast forever.

As Yang had gotten used to her new form in an empty castle, she learned many things about the curse. 

She couldn’t leave the castle grounds, the farthest she could go was 20 yards past the gate. Food was prepared for her seemingly out of thin air. If she wanted a bath drawn, all she had to do was announce it and within minutes, a bath would be drawn. Something was tending to the crops. Something was tending to the garden. Something was cleaning up the messes Yang made.

Yang found a room in the east wing she would keep the Rose in. Everyday it would get closer to wilting.  
At first, Yang was angry.

Yang tore down every remnant of who she used to be. She trashed her old room, moving to sleep in an empty one. She ripped every picture of herself off the castle walls, tearing the parchment so she couldn’t see her face. She broke every mirror in the palace. All but one. A tiny hand mirror that wouldn’t break no matter how hard Yang tried to smash it.

Yang eventually found out that it would show her whatever she asked of it. She would ask about anyone in the castle, but it just showed her random empty rooms inside. She kept tabs on the witch Salem. She watched as her friends from other kingdoms marry, grow old, and die. Time was hard to keep track of, but it was hard to ignore how Yang wasn’t aging. The curse must be keeping her alive, immortalized at 19.

Whatever happened to her family, they would have died from old age anyway.

She grew attached to the mirror, spending days ignoring her needs, eating, sleeping, to watch people through it. 

One day, it disappeared. 

Yang spent weeks tearing the castle apart, trying to find it, but she never did.

Eventually, she stopped feeling anger.

She stopped caring. 

She stopped coming downstairs to eat, letting the food be served to her room. What was the point? She didn’t have anyone to dine with at the table.  
She let herself go months without a bath until her fur got matted and she couldn’t stand her own smell. It’s not like anyone could see her.

She didn’t leave her room unless she had to.

She didn’t eat unless she was starving.

She didn’t drink unless she was parched.

People would stumble into the castle. Yang was lonely, starved for attention, she would welcome them.

They would take one look at her, and run away.  
One girl took one look at her and brought out a shotgun, and tried to kill her. Yang had chased her away.

She had returned in a week with a whole mob of angry townsfolk. They had chased Yang through the castle, before Yang had managed to confuse and scare them into fleeing.

Eventually, Yang began to accept her new form, her new life. Accepted that she was going to stay here until the Rose finally wilted. And it was close. Very close. 

But she never returned to how she had been before. Now that she had learned and accepted the sadness, the loneliness the curse brought, she mulled about her day, aimlessly. Everything blurred together. 

She had developed a fear of attachment. That she might come to care for someone one day, and they would leave her to. 

Yang was tired of being left. Being abandoned.  
By her mom. By everyone else in the castle (not that it was their fault).

When Blake’s father came to the castle, Yang didn’t take any chances. She locked him in her dungeon so he couldn’t leave her too. And he would hate her for it, but that would be fine. She could be in a room with him and they could talk. And she wouldn’t be alone. 

And that’s when Blake arrived.

…

“You promised you’d stay, and I didn’t believe it.” Yang was saying, “I still don’t entirely believe it. But you’re the only companion I’ve had in a very long time. And I’m glad you’re here.”

Blake took a second to process all of that (it was a lot), and found herself agreeing, “Yeah, so am I.”

“I know most of that sounds super depressing, but I’m getting better.” Yang promised, “You, just being here, makes me want to be better. Happier.”

Yang angled her eyes to the floor.

“You make me happier.” she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Blake put a gentle hand over her wrist.

She doesn’t say anything, she didn’t have to. Yang knew.

…

Snow fell outside the bar. Adam tapped his finger on his glass, trying to recall his conversation with the Chieftain earlier that day. He had called Adam into his office on short notice.

“What’s wrong, sir?” Adam asked, “I’ve hardly seen you in months.”

Ghira gestured to the empty seat across from him.  
“Sit down, son, I want to talk to you about something important.”

Adam did as told, “What is it?” he repeated.  
Ghira shifted anxiously in his chair, took a deep breath.

“Kali told me what you’ve been doing for her. I appreciate it, you know there’s no one else I would trust to file that work.”

Adam beamed at the praise, “Anything to help, sir.”

“I appreciate it.” Ghira repeated, “And because of this, Kali and I have decided to, hopefully, recruit your help with Blake.”

Adam straightened in his seat, feigning concern, “What happened to her?”

Ghira placed his hands on the desk. 

“I know it’s going to sound hard to believe, but I saw it with my own two eyes.”

Adam ran a hand through his hair. A beast. A eight foot tall monster, keeping Blake locked in a tower.  
If that were true, it would have killed the girl by now.

Adam doubted that a monster like that existed, but he didn’t doubt Ghira’s sincerity. Ghira was a sensible man, reasonable, smart. He wouldn’t say something absolutely bonkers like that without having evidence if it weren’t (at least in part) true.  
The Chieftain probably saw something he thought was a monster, or perhaps a very buff, hairy, man, who was keeping Blake prisoner. Yes, that was probably it.

Adam was at a crossroads. He had told Ghira he needed some time to process the information, and had returned here. He never drank the beer (it tasted gross and dulled his senses, and he needed to stay sharp, constantly vigilant) but it was a good place to think. 

On one hand, he wanted Blake to stay away, that way, he could continue to have a say in political affairs in the town, thus gaining the people’s trust, thus gaining power. But perhaps the damage had been done. The townsfolk already trusted him well. But was it well enough? Did they trust his word over Ghira’s? 

But Adam needed Blake alive, for the time being. If he married her, and he remained in her parents' good graces, he would inherit Chieftainhood. Which was what he wanted. 

Menagerie deserved a leader like Adam, one that would make this tiny town mean something.  
But if Adam helped Ghira map out the woods, trying to find the castle Blake was trapped in, he would lose his position of power (helping Kali with political affairs. It was minor stuff, but in this spot, Adam could work his way up). But if he refused to help, he would make it clear how little he cared for Blake. And if he wanted to be Chieftain one day, he needed to pretend to care for her, to remain in the Belladonna's good graces. 

So Adam was at a crossroads. One idea that he had that particularly stood out to him, is using this knowledge to raise his own social standing.

Ghira was getting on in age, and with his random disappearances, rumors are already circulating about him. If Adam told the town he was losing his sanity, believing in monsters and beasts, they might choose his side over Ghira’s. 

But if he created rumors, Ghira would know immediately that Adam had done it, since he was the only one who the Chieftain had told, besides Kali.

What he really needed was a scapegoat. He could try to scapegoat Kali, saying that she was so overworked she let it slip. But that was too risky, Ghira would see right past him. The only reason Adam would forfeit his good graces would be in an emergency, where he saw an opportunity to gain the entire town’s trust. Eventually, Adam will have to destroy Ghira, Kali, and Blake’s reputation so no one would be able to stand up to him, but that would be after Adam had already secured Chieftainhood and the whole town’s trust. 

The plan about rumors was a good idea in theory, but too risky in practice. Until he had a scapegoat…  
He heard a loud roar from the table next to the bar.  
The group was gambling, one of them laughing loudly at the loser.

The laugh was grating in his nerves, and Adam turned away, trying to tune him out. Annoying. Not nearly as annoying as that blond Blake chose to associate herself with.

Suddenly an idea formed in his head. He knew firsthand that Sun, Illia and the others cared for Blake a lot. They knew something (Adam wasn’t sure what) but not what Adam now knew. If he could convince Ghira to let that group of degenerates in on the secret, then he could scapegoat one of them. 

A vile smile creeped onto Adam’s face. 

New plan.

…

Snow fell outside the castle. Blake loved the snow for multiple reasons. 

One, it provided a reason to stay inside, by a fireplace, with a good book.

And two…

“I was supposed to be married by now.” said Blake, sitting by the fireplace, warm cup of tea in her hands.

Yang lay next to her, curled up like a cat. Suddenly her head rose to attention.

“Married?” she asked, confusion visible on her face.  
Blake tapped her fingers on the rim of her cup, “I don’t really like talking about him, but I have a fiancé back home.”

Yang’s face dropped, visibly disappointed.

“Oh.” she spoke, “How fortunate, I’m sorry I cause you to miss-“

“I’m not fortunate.” Blake interrupted, “Adam isn’t… I’m not in love with Adam. Not anymore.”

Yang dropped her head back into the floor but looked up at Blake, curiously.

Blake placed her tea on the floor.

“I’ve known Adam ever since I was little,” she began, “I met him when I was fourteen.  
“Back then I didn’t have many friends, just this girl in my grade, Illia. I had heard about Adam before I met him, actually. We went to the same primary school, but he was a grade above me, so we had no reason to speak. There were rumors about him, he got into trouble often. People steered clear of him, when they could.

“I remember there was a fight in the courtyard, I can’t remember if Adam started it or not, but he was involved. I remember he ran off. And I’ve always been the curious sort, it’s always gotten me into trouble. So I followed him, to make sure he was alright. He had been hiding behind the school, crying. I should’ve walked away, but I didn’t. I tried to console him but he lashed out at me. 

“He found me the next day and instead of trying to avoid him, I found myself intrigued by what he had to say. He offered to walk me home. I let him.  
“I don’t know exactly what it was about him that drew me in. He was a mystery. He had this facade, where he acted cold and distant and I knew behind all that, there was the boy crying behind the school. I wanted to unravel that mystery, I wanted to help him. He was a broken piece of China and I wanted to piece him back together. My broken little boy.”

Blake picked up her cup again, taking a sip, and holding it in her hands, the warmth soothing her.  
“He was angry and defiant, all sharp edges and broken pieces. I thought I could fix him. But I was wrong.

“ ‘Fixing’ someone, fixing Adam, it wasn’t my responsibility. If Adam had wanted to get better, control his anger, he should have seen a professional, and worked on it himself, instead of placing the burden on me, just because I offered. I haven’t known what I was getting myself into.  
“Adam hung out with Illia and I. She didn’t like him very much, but I was blind to his faults. I had this romanticized version of him in my head- I’ve always been a romantic, probably a side effect from reading all those fairy tale books- a version of him where he was a sort of dark prince. Cold to the world, but kind to me.”

Blake started into the fire and sighed.

“But he never cared for me.

“The only thing Adam ever wanted, ever craved, was power. I thought he had wanted love. He was abandoned by his parents when he was very young, and never really clicked with anyone since then, besides me. I had thought he wanted love, that my love would fix him. But I was wrong. What Adam really wanted was to be respected, even feared. He no longer wanted to be the broken boy crying behind the school, he wanted everyone in this town to see his strength, so he could never be that boy again. And the only way he knew how to do that was through power.

“I was fourteen and he was sixteen and we hung out all the time. Even hanging out without Illia. Eventually, he began courting me, and I was ecstatic. I made some more friends. Sun Wukong wormed his way into my life, introducing me to all of his friends, as well.

“Since Adam and I hung out so often, I assumed it was just natural for him to become close with my parents. I hadn’t thought anything of it. When I was eighteen, he proposed. And I said yes.

“A year ticked by and I noticed things begin to change. Adam had always been cold, and sometimes even cruel, but it did not often happen directed toward me. But after the engagement, it’s like... he stopped holding back. Like he didn’t have to pretend anymore. 

“I’ve never talked to him about it, because he’d deny it, but it’s pretty clear he’s using me. He pretended to care about me so I would marry him, and now that he was secure with my affections, and my parents favor, he wasn’t afraid to show me how little he cared.

“He would tell me not to hang out with my friends anymore, because he didn’t like them. That he was the only company I needed, that if I really cared about him, I wouldn’t need anyone else. 

“Sometimes he’d take his anger out on me. It usually had nothing to do with me, just his frustration about his plans taking so long. 

“It took me longer than I like to admit to finally realize what a horrible person he was. But when I finally admitted it to myself, I tried to get out of it.

“I tried to tell my parents, but they told me I was probably just getting cold feet, to wait a week and think about it before making any drastic decisions. And while a week passed, they had told Adam. 

“I know they only had the best intentions. They thought Adam loved me, that he’d use this knowledge to help me. But…

“Well, he didn’t exactly threaten me, but it was pretty clear what he was trying to say. 

“I’m afraid that if I say anything, he’ll hurt me, or the people I care about. And he absolutely can, is the worst part. He’s an amazing speaker, he’s a natural leader, and he uses that to get what he wants.

“And what he wants is to be Chieftain. And if he marries me, then he’ll get it. And he can’t be Chieftain, he’d run this town into ruin for his own gain.

“My friends have tried to help me by talking to my parents for me, but they won’t believe a word. I’m trapped.

“Or… I was.

“The problem with Adam was that I thought my love would fix him. But that’s not how that works. He had to have wanted to change. Sure, love can be a great motivator for that. Someone’s love would make you want to change, but you have to actually want to change, and put in the work. Adam didn’t do that.”

Blake paused, tearing her gaze from the fire and back to Yang, who was looking up at her, wide-eyed.

“We were supposed to be married in October, that’s before the first snowfall.” Blake explained, “I made it out, somehow. By staying with you.”

Yang raised her head from the floor to meet her gaze.

“Well, I’m glad you aren’t there anymore.” said Yang, “No fiancé of yours is allowed to step foot on my property.”

Blake laughed.

“It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?” said Blake, “I'm a prisoner in a castle with a seven foot tall beast, and I’ve never felt safer in my life. For the first time since I was fourteen, I don’t feel like I’m walking in eggshells. I don’t feel like someone’s watching my every move.”

Yang sat up, her face even.

“I’m gonna beat him up.” said Yang, “I’m gonna find him and I’m gonna kick his ass.”

Blake laughed, “You can’t leave the castle.” 

“I’m still gonna beat him up, you can’t stop me.” said Yang.

…

“Very creamy,” Blake described. 

“Creamy,” Ruby repeated, imagining the taste.  
Blake dug her fork into the chicken pot pie, and took another bite. She had lost track of time, but she had been here for over four months, and in that time, she had begun to see why Yang seemed to have so little manners. Why care how you eat, when the only person who can judge you is a talking candlestick? 

So yes, Blake was eating the chicken pot pie straight from the tin. 

Suddenly, Ruby went still, and Blake looked around, wondering where Yang could be.

She had walked in behind her, and Blake swiveled around in her seat to face her.

Yang, in addition to her normal trousers and white button up, was wearing a long, velvet cloak.

Blake’s heart thudded.

Yang was usually locked away in her room at this hour.

Yang tilted her head to the side, an amused smile in her face.

“Were you talking to the candlestick?” she asked.  
Blake smiled back at her.

Yang had walked in in Blake talking to the object staff many times, and Blake always answered honestly. Yang probably thought Blake just liked to talk to objects. Maybe as a way of coping with the loneliness of the castle. Yang never acted like it was weird, she respected Blake and her weirdness.

“Yep.” said Blake. “She likes to know what the food tastes like.”

Yang laughed, and walked over to the table.

“Well I hope it’s good.” she said.

“It is.” said Blake, patting the chair next to her. “Want to try it?”

…

The streets were busy during the mid afternoon rush hour, but even so, the crowd parted for Adam.  
Adam had been the one to officiate everyone’s weddings.

Adam had been the ones to sign the treaties.

Adam had been the one helping with the taxes and finances.

Adam was the one running things in this town.  
And everyone knew it.

Everyone besides the Belladonnas, of course, who remained painfully oblivious to Adam’s schemes. And who could blame them, really? They were so worried about finding their only daughter, they were hardly worried about the town or it’s people. 

This was why the Belladonnas weren’t cut out to be leaders, and Adam was.

The Belladonnas put their loved ones above themselves, it made them easy to manipulate.  
Just as he had manipulated Ghira into accepting the help of Illia, Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage (he had to learn all of their names, ew). 

And just as he had gotten the whole town to trust him, he had spread rumors about Ghira’s madness. How he believed his daughter was locked away in a tower with a beast, a monster. How he had become delusional, trying to find her.

Adam had determined that at this rate, he wouldn’t need to marry Blake to become Chieftain, just get the town riled up enough to stage a coup. And if Ghira heard the rumors about Blake and the Beast, he would blame the spreading of them on Blake’s friends, so he wouldn’t take the fall. His plan was fool proof.

“... I just think a loon like him shouldn’t be Chieftain, is all I’m saying.” said one of the people, as Adam walked by.

He paused to hear the conversation, pretending to view the fish for sale.

The woman who had been speaking looked his age, maybe older, dark grey hair and yellow- brown eyes. The girl she was talking to had tan brown skin, short, green hair, and red eyes. 

“I’m not disagreeing with you, but I don’t see how there’s anything we can do about it.” said the green haired girl, playing the man at the bread stand a handful of lien.

Adam smiled to himself. A coup would need people in it. 

“Sorry to intrude,” Adam began, “But I can’t help overhearing your concerns, and I completely agree.”

The two girls looked over at him, startled, but interested.

Adam leaned in, “What if I said I knew of something we could do?”

…

“Just try it on, you’ll love it, promise.” swore Winter, opening her drawers to reveal a long, velvet dress.

“I’m not really an evening gown person.” Blake said.

“Told you you should’ve made a suit.” spoke Whitley.

“I know what I’m doing,” claimed Winter, “Blake wants to look her best for dinner tonight. The master will be there.”

“Yang probably doesn’t care what I wear.” said Blake, laying down on the king size bed.

“Yes, but you do, right?” asked Winter.

Blake sat up in the sheets, her face pink. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, come on,” Whitley said, “You talk about her all the time, we both know how you feel. We all do.”

“You do?” Blake said, trying to sound sarcastic but actually sounding really worried.

Whitley said; “It’s pretty obvious.” At the same time Winter said; “Ignore him.” 

Whitley tottered back and forth, “You know I’m right!” he said to Winter, his voice shrill, Then back to Blake, he said, “You should tell her. I’m ten thousand percent sure the master feels the same. You should do it soon!”

Blake bristled, standing up.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” said Blake, her face red.

She walked over to Winter and took the dress out of her drawers.

“I’m changing into this. But not because I care about what Yang thinks, because I definitely do not.”

Then she walked all the way over to her changing wall and tore her dress off, throwing it on the floor angrily. 

Blake didn’t like to think about the way her feelings for Yang were developing, Blake was quite scared of them. Blake knew Yang would never hurt her, that she was everything Adam wasn’t. That she had been feeling awful, numb, depressed. She saw a reason to change and she put in the work and she did. Now, Yang would never be the same person she was before the curse, but she wanted to get better and she is getting there, little by little. And that’s really all that mattered to Blake.  
And yet, Blake was terrified.

Loving Yang meant putting her heart out again, it meant being vulnerable. Of course Yang wouldn’t hurt her on purpose, but if Blake told her how she felt, or Yang otherwise found out, Blake would run the risk of rejection. And of course it wasn’t Yang’s fault if she didn’t feel the same way, but Blake wasn’t sure if her heart could take another break.  
And if by some miracle Yang did feel the same, there were so many ways she could break her heart anyway. Being in a serious relationship means being completely open and vulnerable with your partner. What if things didn’t work out? What if they got together but Yang’s feelings fade overtime? What if Blake had to leave and Yang couldn’t? What if Yang found out Blake hadn’t told her about the object staff? What if they broke up or Yang rejected her and had to live in the same house and everything was awkward? Loving someone meant taking a big risk. And Blake wasn’t sure if she could take that risk.

Blake tugged the gown over her head and let it fall to her ankles. 

A small, weak part of her wanted nothing more than to fall into Yang’s arms and stay there. But Blake knew better. She walked downstairs, taking two steps at a time to get to dinner faster.

…

Blake and Yang’s laughter echoed through the halls of the empty castle and not for the first time, Ruby wished she could join them at dinner. See her sister again. See her sister laughing. Happy.  
Yang hadn’t been truly happy in years, and somehow, Blake made her the happiest she’s ever been.

Ruby paced down the hall (well, the candlestick equivalent), “Just confess. Please just confess,” she murmured her herself.

“You know it isn’t that easy.” Weiss reminded.  
“I know,” said Ruby, stopping her pacing and turning to face her, “But if they don’t confess soon…”

“I know,” Weiss finished, “But Winter says Blake’s still in denial.”

“I know,” said Ruby, “But the Rose is almost completely wilted! We don’t have much time left!” We have to intervene!” 

“I know,” replied Weiss, mournfully, “But you know the rules. We can’t tell Blake what she doesn’t already know. Until Blake finds out that the curse will be broken by true love, we can’t help them.”  
“And Yang won’t say anything because she’s afraid of giving Blake any reason to dislike her in fear that she’ll leave.”

“Yep.”

Ruby gave a long sigh, “This is the worst.”

“I know,” said Weiss.

…

Yang’s mug hit the table with a loud slam.  
“I win!” she cried. 

Blake also placed her mug on the table, coming up for air.  
“Jesus,” Blake exclaimed, “How do you down brandy so fast? It tastes horrible!”

Yang gave a big, belly laugh.

“You get used to it.” she explained. 

Blake took her napkin and wiped her face with it, hoping she hadn’t gotten any brandy on the evening gown Winter made for her. Not that she cared what she looked like for dinner tonight, because she didn’t.

“As per agreement,” Yang began, “I believe you owe me a secret.”

Blake sighed, leaning back in her chair. She wasn’t sure how Yang had gotten her to agree to a drinking contest, nor how she had gotten her to agree to those terms, since it was basically a throwaway. Yang could drink Blake under the table any day. But Blake had agreed anyway.

Maybe… maybe it was because there was something she had been meaning to tell Yang for a while now, something she’s been afraid to mention for a long time.

Blake took a deep breath, “The stuff that I talk to in the castle does actually talk back.” 

Yang scrunched her face up and looked at her strangely.

“Uh. Okay.” she said.

“Ugh,” complained Blake, “I’m saying this all wrong.”

Blake shifted in her seat to face Yang, placing a hand on her wrist. Yang flinched under her sudden touch, but relaxed quickly and shifted to meet Blake’s gaze. 

“Remember how that witch, Salem, made all the staff in the castle disappear? Well she didn’t, she actually turned them all into furniture and household objects, all unable to leave the castle the same way you can’t. They’re the ones keeping the garden and and harvest, cooking the food, dusting and cleaning, drawing baths, all that. But they’re cursed to become inanimate objects again when you get too close to them, so they can’t talk to you. But they can talk to me. But also, they can’t tell me things about you or themselves or the curse if I don’t already know about it. It’s complicated. But basically, they told me not to tell you because they were afraid you’d freak out. Are you okay?”

Yang stared at her, her face blank. 

“Yang?” Blake repeated.

Yang swallowed, “You’re not drunk? You’re not playing with me? Because it isn’t funny.”

“I’m not drunk, I only had half a mug of brandy three second ago that’s not how that works. I would joke about this, that would just be cruel. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier they just… they wanted me to stay quiet.”

“No,” said Yang, “It’s not your fault.”

The Beast stood up, and faced the door.  
“Sorry, I need a few minutes to process this, if that’s okay?”

“Oh,” said Blake, “Yeah, no, that’s fine. Take as much time as you need.”

Yang walked toward the door, Blake opened and closed her fists anxiously.

Yang reached the door and Blake stood up impulsively and said; “When- when you’re ready- when you want to- you can talk to me about this, later. I’m here if you need me.”

Yang paused at the threshold, “Of course.” She said, walking out, but she did not turn around.

…

Blake didn’t know how much time had passed, but Yang had come talk to her about it. At first, Yang hadn't been sure how to feel. She didn’t know if she could believe it at first. Then she was angry at Salem for making her life unnecessarily cruel, and not just her life, but the entire staff’s lives as well. She then became angry at the staff. Why couldn’t they let her know? Maybe they couldn’t say anything, but they could have written it out somewhere, and left it for her to find. They could have talked loud enough for Yang to hear them. Then Yang felt bad about feeling angry. She should be happy they’re here, helping her. Then Yang felt bad that her curse was also affecting everyone else in the castle, that wasn’t fair. Then she got angry at Salem again. And that went on over and over until she burnt herself out, and came to Blake.  
After a while, they came up with a system. Blake would talk to one of the objects and then run into another room, and give the message to Yang.  
Blake would never forget the first time Yang had heard from her sister in decades. Blake whispered the message into Yang’s ear and she broke down crying.

And Blake held onto her the whole time.

…

As February came to a close, Blake had been gone for nearly six months, and Ghira had begun to lose hope that Blake may still be out there. 

Adam had given him hope to continue his search. His plan would not hold up if Ghira changed his behavior. And the best part? Sun and Illia and backed him up. Even though the teens clearly didn’t trust him, they still held onto foolish hope that Blake could be found.

Best yet? The coup was expanding. They had nearly fifty members who all believed Ghira was a nut job, and needed to be replaced. Cinder (the grey haired girl) had been the one to suggest Adam replace Ghira as Chieftain, and Adam had acted all modest about it, maintaining his image as a concerned citizen of Menagerie who just wanted what was best for the town. 

Yes, it was all coming together nicely. Best of all? Ghira had entrusted all of his public appearances and interaction to Adam, who used the time to slyly spread the rumors about him. Adam had the whole town underneath his thumb, and Ghira and Kali had no idea. Illia and the others may be onto him, but they weren’t foolish enough to approach Adam about it, or snitch to Ghira without strong evidence.

The only problem, Ghira had finally found the road that led to the castle Blake was supposedly trapped in. He had called all that knew about the situation to his office to plan for what comes next.

“I have come up with our next move,” Ghira was saying, “And I want your opinions on it.”

Adam stood in his office, back straight, “Of course. What is it?”

“What’s the sitch?” said Sun, a goofy grin on his face.

Kali gave him a motherly smile, while Ghira glared at him.

Neptune placed his hand on Sun’s shoulders, “Sorry, ignore him.”

“Please continue.” said Illia, while Scarlet and Sage shifted uncomfortably behind her.

Ghira cleared his throat. 

“Anyway,” he continued, “I was thinking, when the Beast threatened me into not telling anyone, she insinuated that she would be able to know if I told. But I have, and she has yet to do anything. What I’m saying is, she’s just one monster, while we are a whole town of people.” 

“What’re you trying to say?” asked Scarlet.

“What I’m saying is, I think we should go public with this knowledge, the people of Menagerie are stronger together. If we all go to the castle together, we can storm it, and overpower her.”

“How would you tell them?” Adam asked before anyone could say anything else.

“I’d call a town assembly, and we would explain the situation.”

The smile spread onto Adam’s face. This plan wrote itself. Adam could imagine explaining the situation to the coup, he could almost see their faces when he told them the plan formulating in his head. The way he would speak out against Ghira at the assembly, calling for Ghira to step down as Chieftain, how the coup would advocate for Adam to replace him. Adam knew everyone in this town, knew how they thought, knew they would take Adam’s side. 

“Sir,” said Neptune, “I’m not so sure the people would believe you. I mean, of course we believe you saw a monster in a lost castle in the woods that kidnapped your daughter, but as you may have probably already figured out, it sounds kinda far fetched when you say it out loud.”

“I understand your concern, Neptune, but Kali and I have already considered that.” responded Ghira, “Menagerie is a small town, and they know us, just as much as we know them. We’ve formed a deep trust with the people of this town over our many years of leading it, and helping them with anything and everything. They know I wouldn’t say something like this if it weren’t true. Why did you trust me, son, if not because of that?”

Neptune opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again.

“Sir,” said Illia, “The people may be hesitant to trust you because… well… you see.. there have been… rumors-“

Adam tensed (Illia and the others must have heard the rumors about the Beast and Ghira’s sanity the Adam has been spreading, it was hard not to hear about it these days) before Ghira interrupted; “I have heard them,”

“You have?” Sun asked, astonished.

“Yes. With their Chieftain disappearing for days on end with no explanation, there are bound to be rumors flying about as to why, but I’m confident in the people of this town. I doubt they truly believe I’m doing anything malicious. Six months can’t change everyone’s opinion of me.”

Poor, naive Ghira, still believing the people respected him. He hadn't heard any of the rumors about his sanity or the Beast, he and Kali hadn’t been about the town enough to hear them. 

‘If only you knew how much everyone hated you.’ he thought.

“Well… if you’re confident, sir.” said Illia. 

“Are you sure…?” protested Sage weakly.

“Yes, I am.” said Ghira.

Adam smiled widely, “As you should be. I have complete confidence this will go smoothly.” For me. “We’ll have Blake back in no time.”

Ghira smiled approvingly at him, “That’s the spirit.”

…

“And what was this room for?” Blake asked, dragging Yang by the paw, into the large, empty, open room.

“This was the ballroom.” Yang explained. “We used to host grand parties here.”

“Really?” Blake asked.

“Yeah,” said Yang running to the center, “There would be a band, playing music, and everyone would be in their finest attire. And- oh- there would be dancing.” Yang twirled around, remembering how it had been.

“Can you still dance?” asked Blake, trotting up to meet her.

“ ‘Can I still dance’, it hasn’t been that long.” Yang retorted sarcastically.

“I thought you’ve been trapped in this castle for decades without aging?” asked Blake, smugly.  
Yang huffed and crossed her arms, ignoring how Blake’s smug grin made her instantly nervous. 

“Doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten.” said Yang wistfully, “I don’t think I could ever forget what dancing at a ball is like.” 

Blake was silent for a moment, then, Yang could see the idea forming in her face.

“We should have a ball.” she said.

“What, here?” asked Yang.

“Yeah. Just the two of us.” said Blake, “We could get dressed up fancy and dance in the ballroom all night! What do you think?”

Yang smiled, “Perfect!” she said, “I’ll meet you back down here after dinner.”

…

Blake looked down at the dress Winter had made for her and Yang’s ball. It was gold, floor length, and it went off the shoulders. It was gorgeous. Blake had never worn anything like this before.

“Do you like it, dear?” Winter asked.

“I almost feel bad wearing it,” Blake admitted. 

“See,” said Winter to Whitley, “I know what I’m doing.”

“I never said you didn’t.” denied Whitley.

“Yes you did!” Winter defended.

The door creaked open, Weiss and Ruby shifted inside.

“Oh, Blake!” Ruby squealed, “You look beautiful!”  
Blake smiled down at the two of them.

“I guess I’ll have to take your word on it, since I don’t have a mirror.”

“Yeah, there hasn’t been any mirrors in the castle since Yang destroyed all of them in a self-loathing rage and we got rid of the magical one. Thank God none of us got turned into mirrors!” said Ruby.

“Wait,” said Blake, “You got rid of the magic mirror? The one that shows you whatever you want to see? Yang said she lost it.”

Ruby and Weiss looked away sheepishly.

“We didn’t really know what else to do.” Weiss explained, “Yang went weeks without eating, doing nothing but looking at that mirror until she passed out from exhaustion. We couldn’t exactly tell her to stop, we couldn’t talk to her at all.” 

“So we stole the mirror, ran as far as we could physically go into the forest without the curse stopping us, and chucked it.” Ruby concluded, “It was the only logical option.”

Weiss cleared her throat, “We tried hiding it a bunch of times, first.” she clarified.

“Yeah,” Ruby agreed, “And then we chucked it.” 

Weiss glared at Ruby in a way that made Blake think she would hit her if she had hands.

“I think I’m gonna go now,” said Blake, shuffling towards the door.

“Right,” said Weiss.

“Good luck!” encouraged Ruby, “Don't forget to tell her how you feel!”

Blake laughed at her as she walked out of the room.

…

Blake stood at the top of the stairs, and Yang looked up at her, ignoring the fluttering in her chest.

As Blake descended, Yang took a moment to awkwardly tug at the blue coat she was wearing, and met her at the bottom of the stairs. Yang held out a hand and Blake took it, and led her to the dance floor.

Blake put one hand on her shoulder, and Yang put a hand on her waist.

“I just realized,” said Blake, “There isn’t any music, how will we dance?”

“Make something up.” said Yang, “We can dance to our own beat.”

They swayed back and forth on the marble floor, Yang’s head spinning twice as fast as they were. But she could have sworn she heard the melody;

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast.

…

As Blake stared into the night sky, she tried to remember the constellations she had read about previously, but suddenly, she found it was hard to think about anything with Yang standing so close to her.

After they had finished dancing (they had gotten dizzy from the spinning and the laughter), Yang had led Blake out to the balcony to catch her breath. 

“I think that’s Orion,” Blake was saying, “You can tell because of his belt, the three stars, the ones that are in a straight line.”

Yang squinted, “Yeah, I think that’s him.” she agreed, “Where’d you learn that? An astronomy book I haven’t had the attention span to read?”  
Blake laughed.

“No,” she said, “My dad taught me that one. He taught me a bunch of constellations, hoping I would be able to use them to find home if I ever got lost.”

Blake looked over at Yang, who was looking up at the stars.

“It’s a good skill to have. You’ll need it when you return there.”

Startled, Blake raised an eyebrow at her, “What do you mean?”

Yang looked down, then, shyly, lifted her gaze to Blake.

“Are you happy here?” she asked.

“Yes.” replied Blake, not a moment's hesitation in her voice.

Yang gave a small laugh, “It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Yang explained, “But rather, that I know you. You may be content here, but no matter how happy you are, you’re always going to miss your family.”

Blake furrowed her eyebrows, not comprehending, “Yang, what are you saying?”

Yang took a deep breath.

“I’m saying that you are no longer my prisoner. I release you from your promise. You can leave.”  
Blake’s eyes widened. “I…” she began, “I don’t know what to say… thank you.”

Yang gave her a smile, “Let me help you pack.”

…

If you asked her, Yang couldn’t tell you when she fell in love with Blake. But she could tell you when she figured it out.

Blake had only been here a short time, and Yang had just shown her the library. Yang lay her head on Blake’s legs as Blake read aloud from one of the many books from the pile she had accumulated that Yang could no longer remember the title of, running a free hand through Yang’s mane.

Yang wasn’t really listening, rather, hearing the soft tones of her voice, letting it soothe her until she fell asleep. She had woken in the morning, and Blake had fallen asleep, laying over her. Yang recalled the night before as she watched Blake breathe softly and thought; I could listen to her talk for hours. And that’s when she knew.

Ever since then, Yang had been trying to get Blake to like it here, to make her feel more comfortable. But every time she got Blake to smile, laugh, feel at peace, the more Yang was reminded how her mission was futile. 

Yang was a Beast who had stolen Blake from her home, and no matter how much Yang tried to move past that, make up for it, it was a simple truth. Blake could never be comfortable in a deserted castle with a monster she barely knew. Yang could not pull Blake into the curse and expect her to be happy. Blake would always miss Menagerie because it was her home. She belonged there, with the bookshop and the people and the promise of a better life, not here, with the lonely, empty, cursed halls, only Yang for company (and the entire staff that had been turned into lamps? That still confused Yang). 

No matter how much Yang wanted her to, no one could love a Beast.

The idea had loomed over Yang for months, and finally, Yang could not ignore it. She wanted Blake to be happy, more than she wanted happiness for herself. And she knew the only way that could ever happen would be if she let her go.

So Yang walked Blake to her room, and helped her pack her belongings and provisions into a little runsack, and Blake changed into a less fancy dress, and Yang walked her to the door.

“I’ll never forget you.” said Blake, a hand on her bag.

“And I’ll never forget you, either.” replied Yang, smiling, praying Blake could not see the sadness behind her eyes, should that make her want to stay.

And Blake had turned around, and Yang watched the only light in her life fade away. And when she had gone, Yang returned to the empty castle.  
She felt her life return to darkness once more, and she fell to the ground.

And screamed.

…

As Blake left the palace, she heard a mighty roar. She turned around, half expecting Yang to be following her, but Blake was alone.

She continued down the path in the forest, praying wolves wouldn’t slow her arrival to Menagerie. Though she was ready for them, this time.

As she walked, Blake wondered why she had to leave the castle at all. There wasn't anything wrong with it. In fact, Blake had grown quite accustomed to living there. The endless halls, and empty rooms, the garden, the library, even the ominous gargoyle statues that were everywhere, Blake would find herself missing. And the people she had met, Ruby, Weiss, Oscar, Winter, even Whitley, she would miss. 

But she would especially miss Yang.

Her heart ached at the mere idea that she wouldn’t see Yang again. 

But there wasn’t any reason why Blake would never return to the castle. She could visit. Surely, once she explained the situation to her parents, they would understand Yang was not a threat, that Yang was her friend, even, and allow her to visit.  
Blake picked up her pace, the castle was still visible in the distance.

The more she thought about it, the more Blake thought it was ironic that a cursed palace was the only place she had felt entirely safe since she was fourteen. Ever since Adam had entered her life, Blake has felt as though she was walking on eggshells. Afraid of saying anything that would set him off. Even when Adam wasn’t around, Blake had been afraid of saying anything should the word get to him (Menagerie was a small town and word traveled fast, so that fear wasn't completely unfounded), and even more afraid that Adam could appear at any moment, and overhear (the man had a tendency to sneak around and appear when least expected, so Blake was always on her toes). But at the castle, Blake felt secure in the knowledge that Adam couldn’t get to her there. Sometimes she felt the fear creep into her mind, but it was easily dismissed by reminding herself that Adam didn’t even know where she was.

Was it really worth returning to Menagerie if it meant crawling back into Adam’s grasp?

If they were married, Adam would have full custody of her. And since the wedding date had passed some time ago, Adam might insist on having it soon. And then how would Blake escape it? If she were married to Adam, she would have no release from him. He would have complete power over her. And she would be trapped. Not to mention he would never allow Blake to return to the castle. And the power he would have, secure that he alone would be the next Chieftain… Blake had finally found a way to escape the marriage, but it meant never seeing her parents again. Or Illia, or Sun, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage. And she would miss them. She had missed them while she was away. 

But was returning worth the cost of her freedom?  
Ironic that she be free in the castle where she was held prisoner, rather than her home.

Suddenly, Blake smelt raspberries. 

She turned to her left, and just off the pathway, was the raspberry bushes she had collected the berries from when Yang had saved her from the wolves.

Even though Blake had been absolutely terrified at the time, she recalled the memory with fondness. It was the first time Blake began to see Yang as something other than her kidnapper, something other than the Beast. Blake smiled and continued down the path.

Not even a yard away from the raspberries, Blake stepped on something hard. She looked down and almost mistook it for a rock, but then she bent down and picked it up.

Blake wouldn’t have seen it if she hadn’t stepped on it, weeds and grass had grown over and around it, making it hard to pick up, but as Blake he’d it in her hands, she recognized it as a hand held mirror. She cleaned the surface with her dress and looked into it. It was perfectly intact.

“The magic mirror…” she realized aloud.

She must be slightly over twenty yards from the castle. It made perfect sense for the mirror to be here. 

Blake tried to remember what Yang had told her about the mirror. You told it what to show you, and it showed it to you, right?

“Show me Menagerie.” said Blake. Her image in the mirror distorted, replaced by a scene Blake recognized as the town hall…

…

Ghira stood in the center of the town meeting. Everyone was here, just as planned.

Adam stood near the front. On one side of him, stood Illia, Sun, Neptune, Sage, Scarlet, and Kali.  
The coup was scattered throughout the audience.  
“I know you’re wondering why I gathered you all here,” Ghira was saying, “And I have an important announcement to make. My daughter, Blake, has been kidnapped.”

The crowd gasped, but Adam stood still. He knew this was coming.

“I know, you’re all alarmed. I attempted to recover her alone, because her kidnapper had told me not to reveal anything to anyone, or serious harm could come to her. But I believe we are stronger than the Beast that holds her captive.”

The crowd was talking loudly amongst themselves, when Ghira spoke over them.

“I will not lie to you, this adversary is no threat to be taken lightly. It’s seven feet tall, and covered in fur. A Beast, a monster. But I believe-“

Whatever he had said next was drowned out by a roar of protests, many of whom were a part of Adam’s coup.

“You want us to believe a fairytale beast has kidnapped your daughter?” roared Cinder, from the middle of the crowd, “Are you mad?”

“This creature is no fairytale, it’s-“ 

But again, the Chieftain was drowned out by an outburst of protests, just as planned.

“He’s lost his mind!” cried Emerald.

“First he disappears for seven months, then he thinks the big bad wolf is coming to get us?” screamed Mercury.

“No,” protested Sun, addressing the crowd, “He’s telling the truth!”

One coup member walked up to him and asked, “Have you seen it? Has anyone besides him seen it? Or this palace it supposedly had his daughter locked up in?”

Sun faltered, “Well, no, but-“

“Your Chieftain has never led you astray before, why would you doubt him now?” countered Illia, “I know it sounds crazy, but shouldn’t that be even more of a reason to trust him? Why would Ghira say something so insane if he didn’t mean it?”

Some non coup members seemed to ponder this, murmuring to themselves. Kali tugged at Adam’s arm, “Help him,” she said, “These people trust you, talk to them.” 

Adam walked forward, up to the Chief, and looked him in the eyes.

“You have served this town for many years, old friend,” Adam began. Ghira’s face cleared of worry for a moment, as though Adam would save him. What a fool he was.

“But clearly, that time is up.” 

Ghira flinched, and Adam faced the crowd.  
“The loss of his daughter has made Chieftain Belladonna lose himself in his grief. He’s lost contact with reality. Is this the Chieftain you want?” 

He heard a chorus of booing from the crowd, members of the coup booing the loudest. Adam met the eyes of Blake’s friends in the audience, their faces in varying shades of disbelief, betrayal, shock, and anger.

The crowd spoke out;

“He needs to step down!”  
“We need a capable leader!”  
“That man needs to be taken away!”  
“Who would lead us?”  
“Belladonna’s a madman!”

He saw the few people still of the Chieftain’s side trying to calm everyone down. Kali in particular tried screaming over the audience.

“Listen to reason!” she yelled, “My husband would never lie to you! Our family needs your help!”

But they didn’t listen to her. Adam knew they wouldn’t. Because Adam knew this town. He knew these people. They’re so quick to outcast what is new and different. They mob together, they fall prey easily to group thinking. They were fools, they were sheep, and Adam was their shepard. They were lost without him. 

“Clearly, the Chieftain and his wife are no longer fit for this job.” Adam began, “Their time is over! We need a new leader! A new Chieftain! We need to begin again!”

“The Belladonnas are lunatics!” cried Tyrian.

“We need to lock them up!” Cinder agreed, “Hazel!” she called.

Hazel stood at the back of the room quietly, though he turned his head when his name was called. 

Hazel was a large man, his arm thickness was nearly the size of Adam’s head, and he was over six feet tall. Intimidating though he be, Hazel’s job was at the Home for the Criminally Insane, he was one of the few men in charge of assigning people to stay there. And he was a part of Adam’s coup. The best part, in Adam’s opinion. 

“Lock them up!” she called to him. 

Hazel kept his poker face as he walked through the crowd, ignoring the shouts- some in protest, some in support- as he made his way to the Belladonnas. Sage jumped in front of him, as to try and stop him, while Sun ran to his side.

“You don’t want to do this,” he was saying, “That's your Chieftain!”

Neptune and Scarlet moved to protect Kali and Ghira from the increasingly dangerous crowd.  
Adam felt a hand grab his arm tightly, and he moved to meet Illia’s eye.

“Stop this,” she commanded. “You were never kind, but you were never this cruel.”

Adam ripped his arm from her grasp. 

“And you never knew me.” 

Hazel had pushed all the teenagers aside and reached the Chieftain. 

“I’m afraid you’ve been deemed unfit for civil living,” Hazel’s deep voice graveled. “You’ll come with me, now.”

A roar came from the crowd and Ghira protested, pleading sanity. The crowd closed in around Ghira and Kali, pushing them and Hazel toward the exit.  
Adam heard the crowd cry;

“Lock them up!”  
“What will we do with no Chieftain?”  
“Where’s Blake?”  
“They’re insane!”  
“Who will be Chieftain?”

Ghira and Kali were almost at the door when Adam heard Emerald shrill voice answer the town’s fears;  
“Adam should be Chieftain!” she screamed, then repeated, “Adam will be Chieftain.” 

And they began to chant;

“Adam! Adam! Adam!”

As Ghira and Kali were pushed out of the doors and out of Adam’s sight. Adam closed his eyes and let himself hear the cheers;

“Adam! Adam! Adam!”

And decided it was his new favorite sound. The sound of sheep following their master. Adam had sworn to himself long ago he would make this town fall to their knees before him, make them kneel to the man they had broken. This town had made him like this, and they would pay for it. Adam would lead them, he would mold them like they had molded him. He would crush those who had wronged him underneath his heel, and he would make this town mean something. 

“Adam! Adam! Adam!”

He let the cheer vibrate through the room, his new favorite sound. The sound of him finally winning.

…

The mirror cleared, and Blake was staring back at her own horrified reflection. How had things gotten so bad in the time she had been away? Her parents being locked up, Adam being made Chieftain…  
Mirror in one hand, Blake sprinted back to Menagerie. 

…

Blake’s lungs burned as she ran through the fork in the road.

She heard the wolves howl, but she didn’t stop moving.

…

Blake saw the lights in the distance, she tore through the town, following the shouts.  
She saw the people crowded outside, the jail carriage, “Home for the criminally insane” branded in the side. She saw her parents being shoved toward it. 

“No!” her father cried, “Please! It’s true! I would never lie to you I would never..” his words were drowned out by the crowd, jeering at him, yelling for him to be put away. Blake ran to the crowd, out of breath, and screamed;

“Stop!” 

The crowd slowly turned to her, and they listened. Halting in their process of throwing her parents away. She met her parents eyes- Ghira’s eyes were wide with shock while Kali wore a smile, her eyes wet- and everyone looked at her. She scanned the crowd, she didn’t spot her friends, but she saw Adam, watching the action from the head of the mob, his face twisted in revolt and shock. 

“My father is telling the truth!” she screamed, “And I have proof!”

Adam walked through the crowd- the people parted to make way for him- and stopped right in front of her.

Blake hadn’t seen Adam in months, but she had not forgotten what it was like to be in his presence. Tense, afraid, like she wished she could shrink until she disappeared entirely. But Blake would not step down this time . He had gone too far. 

“Is that so?” His said, voice quiet enough so that no one could hear but Blake, so she would know this threat was for her.

Blake met his eyes, her face hard. She took out the mirror and said;

“Show me the Beast.”

…

Yang hunched over as she walked through the halls of the Castle. She tore her claws through the walls and ripped the curtains from the windows. She let her roar shake the building, trying to do something- anything- to get angry.

The only person who she has ever loved- truly, romantically loved- had left her. Just like her mother, her step-mother, and everyone else. Yang was alone again. She would probably be alone forever now, the Rose was almost wilted and Yang still didn’t know how to break the curse, and it wasn’t likely Blake was returning. Why would she? Who could ever love a beast? A monster?

Yang knocked over a dresser, letting it shatter when it hit the ground. Her blood was pumping, she was breathing hard, her face was twisted in a scowl and yet- she wasn’t angry.

Yang felt her knees give out, and she fell to the floor. Yang just felt… numb. When Blake was here, it was so easy to smile, to feel happy, angry, sad… Yang had thought she was getting better. Was it really so easy to just go back to the nothingness she lived in before Blake had been here? Yang wasn’t a person meant to be alone. And yet she had doomed herself to it. 

Again, Yang roared. Again, she wasn’t angry. She could never be angry with Blake. 

…

Blake held the mirror above her head, for all to see. She saw how everyone in the crowd gasped, staring at the mirror, how they forgot about Ghira and Kali, all eyes were on her. 

The crowd began to murmur;

“Unbelievable.”  
“It’s real.”  
“It’s horrifying!”  
“Look at those claws…”  
“I don’t believe it.”

Adam tore the mirror from her hands, and studied the image. Blake grabbed for it back but Adam pushed her away.

“I don’t believe it.” said Adam, “Do you know what this means, people?”

They believed her. Blake let herself calm for just a moment.

“There’s a beast living down the forest path! A monster! Look at it!” Adam held the mirror back up, “Look at how it throws things around, see it’s teeth when it gives a mighty roar. This thing can not be allowed to live beside us! It will eat your children and lock you all away. Just look at how it kidnapped poor Blake! We won’t be safe until it's head is mounted in my wall!”

Blake stiffened as the crowd roared in agreement.  
“No!” Blake cried, “She's not a monster!” 

Blake stood in front of Adam, trying to draw the crowd's attention again.

“She may look frightening, but she’s really kind, and sweet, and the strongest, bravest person I know. She would never hurt anyone…”

Adam stood to Blake’s side and pushed her backward.

“If I didn't know better, I’d say you had feelings for this monster.” he said, his voice too low to be heard by anyone else. Blake’s heart picked up in pace. She tried to keep a poker face- she didn’t want Adam to know of any more of Blake's weaknesses, should he try to use her love for Yang against her. 

“Clearly,” Adam began, louder this time, so everyone could hear him, “The Beast has poisoned your mind when you were in its captivity.” 

Blake’s father pushed through the crowd, Kali at his side, “If my daughter says this Beast is friendly, then it's friendly, damn it!” 

“They’ve all lost their minds!” Adam yelled, “Lock them all up!”

The crowd cheered and crowded the four of them.  
Adam looked down at Blake, his face hard and angry, the face that Blake knew all too well, the one that said how dare you cross me. Blake had been afraid of that face for years. Not anymore.  
Quieter, he pulled Blake close to his face, and he spoke to her,

“People hurt me long before we met. All sorts of people, in all sorts of ways. But no one hurt me quite like you.” 

Blake tore her gaze away from him.

“You hurt me, when you chose to run from me, Blake. Even after you swore you would never.” he spoke venomously, “I am going to make it my mission to destroy everything you love, so you can feel what I felt when you hurt me. Starting with the Beast.”

Blake’s face betrayed her, growing wide with fear at the thought of anything bad happening to Yang, and Adam could read the love in Blake’s face, and knew what Yang meant to her.

“I say we kill the beast!” he roared, addressing the town yet not taking his eyes off Blake. 

Only when Blake was taken away from roughly by angry freshmen hands did he return his gaze to the crowd. 

“Show me the way to the Beast.” Adam commanded the Mirror.

“No!” Blake cried, being manhandled, and thrown into the back of the jail cart, the door locking behind her. 

She ran to the small barred window at the door and looked out of it.

The town was gathering torches and pitchforks, swords and guns. They marched off on the forest path.

“Don’t hurt her!” Blake cried, “Please, stop!”

But no one listened. 

Eventually, Blake stopped trying. She fell to the floor. Her parents- also in the jail cart with her, sat down beside her.

“Honey,” her father began softly, “I don’t understand. This beast, she captured you. She took you away from us.”

“Because she was lonely.” said Blake, “She's been completely alone, unable to leave her castle, for nearly a hundred years. People are afraid of her, so no one who comes to the castle ever stays. Can you even imagine what that must be like?” 

Kali ran a hand through Blake’s hair. “Oh, sweetheart, you really care about her, don’t you?”  
Blake nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her throat was tight. The whole town was going to kill Yang, and It was entirely Blake's fault, and there was nothing she could do about it. Blake would never see Yang again. Never see her smile, never hear her laugh, never see the way her eyes crinkled at the edges when she told a stupid joke. Never hear the way her voice went soft when she was being vulnerable. Never comb her fingers through Yang’s soft fur as she read from library books, Blake was going to lose her. And somehow, that hurt more than when Blake thought she was never going to see Menagerie again. Blake gut twisted, and she squeezed her eyes tight so she wouldn’t cry.

Ghira’s face seemed to lift with understanding.  
“She let you go.”

Blake nodded. 

Suddenly, the door behind Blake clicked and swung open. Blake turned around and there stood Sun, key in one hand. 

“Blake?” he said, shock creeping up into his voice.

“Sun!” Blake cried, jumping into his arms. Sun was caught off guard, but hugged her back. 

“I don’t understand- when did you get here?” he began, “We leave for five minutes and the whole town is gone.”

“We?” asked Blake, pulling away from him.

Illia, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage stood behind him. 

“Sorry, must have missed something.” said Neptune, “We dipped to go steal Hazel’s keys, and the whole town left?”

“They’ve got a head start!” Blake cried.

“A what?” Illia asked.

“No time.” said Blake, “They’ve gone to kill my friend. I have to get there before them.”

Blake thought for a moment, “Bumbleby! I’ll ride on her and take the shortcut through the mountain, I’ll warn her! You’ve gotta catch up to everyone and slow them down. Please!”

Sun put his hand on her shoulders, “That’s two favors you owe me, now.”

“Thank you.” she said, sprinting off to grab Bumbleby.

“Seriously,” Neptune asked, “What's going on?” 

…

“I really thought she would be the one.” said Ruby, laying down on the dresser drawer.

“This is why I don’t get my hopes up,” said Weiss, “That rose petal is going to wilt and we’re all going to die.”

“Don’t say that!” Ruby gasped, “There’s still time!”  
“No there isn’t,” said Weiss, glumly, “There’s like… one petal left on that thing. It’s probably going to wilt today. Unless Blake suddenly decides to come back, I doubt-“

Suddenly, Zwei ran into the room, barking up a storm. 

“What is it?” asked Ruby.

Qrow shuffled in after him, “There’s people outside.” he grumbled.

“People?” Weiss asked.

Qrow walked out of the room, prompting Ruby and Weiss (and Zwei) to follow. They reached the window, and looked down the five stories, into the woods below. Ruby saw the mountain pass, a horde of people, carrying torches and pitchforks.  
“Oh no…” Weiss murmured. 

“Quickly!” Ruby called, “We have to barricade the door! Don’t let any of them in!”

…

Yang placed the glass casing over the Rose. It only had one petal left. Yang only felt the dull ache of loneliness in her gut, knowing she would wither away from the curse, alone. Not that that should come as a surprise. Had there been a way to reverse the curse at all? Or had Salem been giving Yang false hope all along?

Yang walked to the balcony and looked longingly into the woods. Was Blake still out there? She spotted lights along the mountain path. She squinted, that was too many lights for it to just be Blake. 

It wasn’t just Blake. 

Yang could see them, a group of them, humans. Carrying torches and swords, and they were coming this way. Yang felt her heart twist. This was way too close to be a coincidence. Blake just left, and now a whole mob was coming to Yang’s castle? But Blake would never bring a mob to come and kill her. Maybe Blake didn’t love Yang the way Yang loved Blake, but she would never come to kill her. Even if Blake hated Yang (and Yang was fairly sure she didn’t) she wouldn’t do that. Blake was a good person, she wouldn’t kill someone unless she had too, unless it was in self defense. 

So what were these people doing here?

It was a coincidence, it had to be. Blake would never do this. Yang would keep repeating it to herself, like a montra, because she knew it to be true. Yang wouldn’t let herself think so lowly of Blake. 

So it was a coincidence then. 

If they were coming to kill her, so be it. Yang was a monster, one who had lived far too long, endured far too much. She had a life. A good one. And she had gotten to meet Blake. Maybe that was enough.  
Yang’s eyes drooped, and she felt numb. And she waited. 

…

Everyone was downstairs, holding the door back. Even Winter, Whitley, and Oscar, who usually never left their posts. 

“It’s not working!” Jaune cried, “They're stronger than us!”

“Hold positions!” General Ironwood commanded, “We will not let them get to the master!” 

“I have an idea!” Ruby spoke.

…

Finally, the door broke down. Adam was the first to step inside. The foyer was deserted, dark, and strangely silent. Adam could have sworn he had heard speaking and seen movement of the other side of the door moments ago. He could not even see what had been blocking the door that made it so hard to break down.

“It’s safe.” Adam decided.

They walked inside, and Adam noticed the piles of junk on either side of the room. Candlesticks and feather dusters and bookshelves and dressers and drawers. Not that Adam expected a Beast to be civilized. Suddenly Adam heard a shrill girl voice yell;

“Attack!” And all the junk came to life and attacked.

Teapots spilt boiling liquid on Emerald, while a whole dresser fell on Tyrian. 

Chaos bloomed in the foyer, and in the midst of that chaos, Adam snook off, and trotted upstairs, unseen by everyone, to find the Beast.

…

Blake, panting, still atop her horse, burst into the foyer, and a full out brawl was going on. The object staff was cornering a very confused mob of Frenchmen. Hardly anyone noticed Blake hopping off her horse. 

Blake scanned the room for Adam, and saw him as he disappeared up the stairs. He was going for Yang. Blake sprinted after him, dodging and weaving through the battlefield.

She nearly tripped over Penny, and suddenly, something tugged on her hair.

“No you don’t!” said Mercury, who had grabbed her hair in one hand, and yanked her way from the stairs. Blake squealed, and Mercury laughed.

“I don’t have time for this!” Blake grunted. Her eyes landed on the shortsword hanging from Mercury’s belt. She grabbed it and pulled it from its scabbard, swinging it through her hair before Mercury could react- her hair fell short before her shoulders and her bow loosened and fell to the floor- and sprinted up the stairs.

…

Yang kept her eyes on the Rose as she waited for the mob to come for her. She could hear them downstairs.

The door creaked open, and a man walked through. He was tall, and walked with a purpose, a red longsword in one hand. He wore black trousers and a fancy, red coat. His hair was red as well, but what really stood out was his eyes. Icy blue, and skin torn or perhaps burnt away from around the left eye, leaving it red and squinted. 

Yang managed to lift her head to meet the man’s eyes. His face was twisted into a snarl, his sword raised as he walked toward her. But Yang stayed put, lowering her head back to the Rose.

Suddenly, the man was on her, slashing his sword deep into her arm. She roared and stood up, walking backwards into the balcony. The man chased her out there, knocking her through the railing- breaking it- and off the balcony.

She landed with a loud crunch on the roof bellow. The man landed on his feet before her. 

“Nothing to say, Beast?” he spat. “No last words?”  
He raised his sword above his head, but there was no point. Yang would die anyway.

“What’s the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?” he roared, “Hit me already!”

Yang did not lift her head.

Adam gave a roar of frustration, “You’re just a coward, like her!”

“Adam!” screamed a voice from the balcony. Yang looked up, and there was Blake. (Her hair was shorter- why was it shorter? Not that it was weird, or bad, it definitely wasn’t bad. It was good. Great, even. Just confusing. When had that happen? Why did it have to happen right now? This was going to distract her the whole fight) Yang’s heart beat faster.

“Leave her alone! Your fight is with me, it always has been!” 

The man- Adam turned to face her.

“You’re Adam?” Yang growled.

She remembered Blake talking about her. This was the man who had caused Blake pain and fear for years. Yang couldn’t forget the way Blake’s while posture had changed when she was talking about Adam, how she curled up in herself, how she seemed so small, so afraid. 

Yang’s mouth curled into a snarl before she even knew what was happening, and she pounced on Adam, pinning him to the ground. Adam’s sword cut her leg and she released him. He swung his sword, and Yang blocked his swings with her claws. He walked backward as Yang approached, growling and snarling, and she swiped her paw, just missing him, and he ran sideways. She followed him across the roof, and lost sight of him, for just a moment.  
She then spotted him on the deck below her, approaching the gargoyles. 

“Did you love her, Beast?” he called, as Yang’s gut twisted. 

He crept around the deck. Yang landed softly behind him. He approached the gargoyle, thinking it was her.

“Did you ever really think she would love you? A monster? A beast?” 

He stabbed his sword into the Gargoyle, and Yang pounced behind him, knocking him to the floor. She pinned him to the roof with one paw, and raised the other, claws out, ready to strike.

“Wait!” Adam cried, “Don’t, please!”

Yang didn’t loosen her hold, her jaw hard. But then, she looked at him, really looked at him. As much as Yang wanted this man out of Blake’s life, Yang didn’t really want to kill him. She didn’t really want to kill anyone. She let her grip loosen and she whispered,

“Get out.” 

Adam’s eyes were wide, but he nodded.  
Yang let him go and stood up.

“Yang!” 

Yang turned around at her name, and saw Blake, sanding on the deck behind her, out of breath. She must have run all the way down the stairs and the east hallway and through the parlor to get to her.  
A smile broke on Yang's face. Blake hadn't come here to hurt Yang, she had come here to save her. 

‘I knew it.’ she thought.

Yang ran over to her, and suddenly, Blake ran into her arms, squeezing her tight, Yang returned the hug fast. 

“You came back.” Yang whispered.

“Of course I did.” Blake spoke into Yang’s shoulder, “I would never leave you alone for very long. I promised, didn’t I?”

They pulled apart, and Yang looked deep into Blake’s eyes, content in never looking away. Blake stared back, but something caught her attention.

“Yang! Behind you!”

Yang turned and Adam had gotten back up.  
The man held his sword in one hand, and the other lay steady at his side.

“You know, she made a promise to me, once. That she’d always be at my side.” he said, then laughed bitterly, “And look at how well she’s kept it.”

“Did she say that to you? Or the person you were pretending to be?” Yang snarled.

“Does it matter?” asked Adam, “Point is, you can’t trust her. Whatever she’s promised you, don’t believe it.”

His shoulders were tensed, his feet were shoulder length apart, he held his sword tight. 

He’s going to attack again.

Yang took a step forward.

“Leave us alone. This is your last chance.” she warned.

“Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to scare me away so you don’t have to die trying to protect her?” he sneered. 

Yang growled, haunching her shoulders, preparing to pounce again.

Then she felt a warm hand in hers. Blake. Yang turned to the other girl in surprise. Blake held a shortsword in her free hand and met Yang’s gaze with a hard stare. 

I’m not backing down if you’re not, it said.

“She’s not protecting me, Adam.” she said, turning her stare to him. “And I’m not protecting her. We’re protecting each other.”

Adam’s face screamed anger as he looked from Blake to Yang. Then he sprang.

…

Sun ran through the threshold of the creepy mansion, the door had already been knocked down. Now Sun knew why.

The foyer was a madhouse. It appeared that inanimate objects were beating up fully grown men. And also they were talking.

“What is going on here?” Sun asked.

“Did I forget to mention that the furniture talks?” said Ghira.

“Yes you forgot to mention the furniture talks! What the f-“

“Is that Bumbleby?” interrupted Kali, pointing to where the horse was currently kicking some random Frenchman he’d never seen before in the stomach.

“Nice.” Scarlet commented.

“It’s the old dude!” gasped a tiny talking candlestick.

“Pardon?” asked Illia.

“You!” said the candlestick, pointing to Ghira, “You’re Blake’s dad!”

“That I am,” said the Chieftain, “And where might she be?” 

The candlestick shrugged. “Did you guys come here to beat up some Frenchman mob guys with us?” 

“Yes.” said Neptune, way too enthusiastically. 

“Sweet! Let’s go!” said the candlestick, hopping back into the fight. Sun shrugged and followed her. 

Sun had stopped trying to figure out what was happening hours ago.

…

When Adam charged toward them, Yang easily stepped out of the way, and his sword clanged against Blake’s. 

They parried once or twice before Blake nearly lost her footing. 

“I wouldn’t have to be doing this if you just behaved!” Adam spat. Blake disconnected their swords, sidestepping so Adam would lose his balance, then sprinted off.

“Can you do anything besides run?” he accused, unaware Blake had just given Yang the perfect opportunity to strike.

And she did, kicking him in the side with her vastly more powerful hindleg, sending him sprawling across the deck. He looked from Blake to Yang, then ran to the roof, and began to climb.

“Go around the other way and meet me at the east wing balcony, I’ll chase him to you.”

Blake gave her a quick nod before running off.  
Yang launched herself on the roof, after Adam. She dug her claws into the black tiles and pulled herself up. Adam turned around at the noise, spotting Yang approaching rapidly behind him.

“What does she even see in you?!” he yelled, kicking her roughly in the face.

Yang lost her footing and slipped down the roof, her quick thinking brought her to an abrupt stop as she caught herself, her claws grabbing hold of the roof again. 

Yang risked looking down, seeing the courtyard several hundred feet below.

That’s a long fall, she thought.

But she persisted, climbing up after Adam, reaching the balcony. Just as she has left it. Though, a large chunk of the railing had been broken when Yang had been thrown off it not too long ago.

Adam was already on the balcony when Yang pulled herself up. He readied his sword to fight again. Yang glanced behind him, but Blake wasn’t there, the only thing Yang saw in the room behind Adam was the red glow of the Rose.

“Last warning.” said Yang, “Run.”

Adam charged toward her, and Yang sidestepped, he slashed his sword again, and again he missed. Yang was panting, still out of breath. She heard the scuff of boots behind her and turned to face Blake, making her way toward them. 

And in that one second distraction, Adam swung his sword down as hard as he could, cleaving her right arm off, just above the elbow.

Yang’s vision went red with pain and she cried out.  
Yang could see Adam’s cold grin as he raised his sword, and Yang heard a scream, then saw the tip of Blake’s shortsword run through Adam's chest.  
Adam had enough time to whisper 

“Oh,”

Before Yang reached up with her remaining paw, swiping it through his neck. 

He crumpled to the floor.

Yang's vision was blurring, she couldn’t see Blake all that well, but she could hear the small, distressed gasp she made. 

She kicked Adam gently to the side, so she could approach Yang. Yang extended her hind legs (Yang was on the floor, when had Yang fallen to the ground?) to kick Adam away even farther (if Yang was going to die- highly likely- she didn’t want Adam’s face to be one of the last things she saw), and she rolled to the side, until he tumbled over the edge on the railing- the railing that had crumbled when Adam had tossed Yang over it- and fell into the ravine. 

Yang squinted, being able to make out Blake's face. It was twisted in sadness, tears rolling down her cheeks. Yang’s arm didn’t hurt anymore, she couldn’t really feel it. Everything was starting to go numb. The only thing Yang could physically feel was Blake’s hands on her arm, and chest, mouthing words Yang couldn’t hear. 

Not a bad last sight, Yang thought. Loss of blood was making her head light and her stomach woozy- the wet blood was sticky and hot, sticking to her fur- but Yang felt numb. Yang had always felt numb. But in that moment, in her chest, Yang felt a spark of warmth. Maybe that was enough.

…

Blake collapsed to her knees in front of Yang- who was bleeding out fast- and grabbed a fistful of her shirt, trying to heave her up, away from the balcony.

“C’mon,” she insisted, “We need to get you to a doctor, quickly.”

Yang said nothing, squinting to see Blake’s face.  
“Please,” Blake called, “Please, you have to get up. You have to be alright.”

Yang looked at her with unfocused eyes, “You came back,” she said, again.

“I’ll always come back,” said Blake, her voice breaking, “I made a promise didn’t I?”

Yang nodded, the tension going from her face, as if that seemed to satisfy her. As if she were ready to die. 

Blake was not ready.

“No!” she cried, hot tears spilling down her face, “I’m not going to break my promise, I swear! Please, just get up!”

“I know you won’t,” Yang whispered, her body going slack.

Her pulse was still going, but slow. She was going into shock, if she went into shock, Blake would have to carry her to a medical professional, and Blake wasn't sure she could carry Yang that far.  
“Yang, no, please,” Blake pleaded, “You have to get up, I’m going to stay with you- I want to stay with you- but you have to stay with me too, please, I love you, get up!”

The Rose’s last petal wilted, falling to the ground beside its brothers. The red glow faded, and then…

Yang’s body started to glow red, so bright, Blake had to shield her eyes. When she opened them, a stranger was in Yang’s place.

She lay motionless, swimming in Yang’s clothes. Her skin was pale- paler than Blake’s- and she was tall, nearly six feet, (Blake estimates slightly below it). She was physically strong- from the arm muscle Blake could see- and most of her right arm was missing. Long, golden hair pillowed out from her scalp. Somehow, the blood that had pooled around Yang had vanished. Suddenly, the girl’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up, quickly. 

She was facing forward, not toward Blake, who was sitting on her left, and she stared dead ahead, her hair covering her face, so Blake couldn’t see her. Her only remaining hand went to her face, then raked through her hair (which fell almost to her waist), as though she had a headache. Then she held her hand before her eyes, as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She turned to face Blake and Blake was met with violet eyes.  
Blake has seen this girl before. When she had snuck into the east wing, where Yang had told her not to go, she saw her face in a torn up portrait. Violet eyes, just like Yang.

“Blake?” she said, her voice soft.

And Blake knew that voice, she knew that smile.  
“Yang!” she cried, throwing her arms around her.  
They pulled apart and Blake was so caught up in the euphoria and adrenaline of Yang not being dead, Blake kissed her. And Yang kissed her back.

…

Tale as old as time,  
Song as old as rhyme,  
Beauty and the Beast.


End file.
